On January 14, 2025, the National Leader of Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres had a telephone conversation.

Warmly greeting each other, the sides exchanged congratulations and best wishes on the occasion of the New Year.

During the conversation, the National Leader of Turkmen people shared fond memories of the meeting with Secretary-General of the UN held in Ashgabat last summer and conveyed greetings and words of respect on behalf of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov.

Expressing gratitude for the kind words and best wishes to the head of Turkmenistan, UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized the special attention of the Organization to the interaction with Turkmenistan, which stands for strengthening peace in the regional and global dimensions. The UN Secretary-General highly appraised the policy pursued by Turkmenistan and its initiatives for universal peace, well-being and sustainable development.

During the conversation, Hero-Arkadag outlined the main directions of the Concept of Activities and Priorities of Turkmenistan within the framework of the International Year of Peace and Trust, for the development of which consultations were held with the UN specialized agencies.

The document reflects the positions of our country on the main issues of the modern global agenda, as well as on consolidation of efforts of the states on the basis of mutual trust, joint dialog and responsibility.

During the telephone conversation, Hero-Arkadag informed the UN Secretary-General about the plans of Turkmenistan for joint implementation with the Organization in 2025, which can and should become a year of change, Hero-Arkadag said, expressing hope for UN support for Turkmenistan’s tasks set out in the Concept.

It was emphasized that the Concept is largely based on the content of the “Summit of the Future” convened at the initiative of the UN last September, and therefore Turkmenistan considers the Concept as a special contribution to the implementation of the final document of the Summit – the “Pact for the Future”.

Noting the importance of the Concept aimed at consolidating efforts to address pressing issues on the global agenda, UN Secretary-General António Guterres fully supported it.

Speaking about the main vectors of the upcoming work, the National Leader of Turkmen people emphasized the security issue. In this regard, the initiative of Turkmenistan to develop a Global Security Strategy under the auspices of the UN was noted.

Among the main aspects of the Strategy is the active use of preventive diplomacy as a tool to prevent and neutralize conflict situations.

Hero-Arkadag emphasized the importance of using the potential of neutrality to support the UN efforts to promote peace, as well as to restore the culture of trusted dialogue in the context of ensuring global security.

Expressing confidence that the implementation of these proposals will reduce political tension in the world, the National Leader of Turkmen people reiterated the unwavering strive of Turkmenistan to intensify the dialog on regional security during the International Year of Peace and Trust.

“We are essentially talking about the situation in Central Asia. Here we intend to rely on the UN General Assembly Resolutions adopted upon the initiative of Turkmenistan - Zone of Peace, Trust and Cooperation of Central Asia, as well as the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia,” Hero-Arkadag said.

The security level and situation in Central Asia are largely determined by constructive resolution of a wide range of issues on the current regional agenda.  One of such issues is water.

The position of Turkmenistan on this issue was clearly voiced at the One Water Summit held in Riyadh on December 3 last year. It was noted that consideration of issues related to water should be based on the following fundamental norms, namely, adherence to international law, consideration of interests of the regional states and involvement of international structures, primarily the UN.

Noncompliance with them poses a threat and vast environmental, socio-economic and humanitarian risk to the countries of the region.

Speaking about the situation in Afghanistan, Hero-Arkadag noted that Turkmenistan, as a neutral state, supports efforts to achieve peace and civil consensus, restore economic infrastructure and resolve social issues in that country.

It was emphasized that the policy of Turkmenistan in this aspect is well reasoned, it correlates with the actions of the new Afghan authorities and objective realities. Dialogue with the administration of the neighboring country is maintained taking into account the standpoint of the United Nations and internationally recognized approaches. At the same time, major economic projects are being implemented with the participation of two countries.

These include the laying of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, the construction of a power transmission line across Afghanistan to Pakistan, as well as the construction of a railroad from Turkmenistan along the Afghan route.

In addition, Turkmenistan has been providing humanitarian aid to the population of Afghanistan for many years, building social facilities at its own expense, Hero-Arkadag said, emphasizing that such support will undoubtedly be provided in the future.

The UN Secretary-General emphasized the importance of the proposals and initiatives aimed at strengthening peace, sustainable development and well-being in the world and in the region outlined by the National Leader of Turkmen people during the telephone conversation and expressed support for them.

As for regional security, it should be taken into account that Turkmenistan is also a Caspian littoral state, the National Leader of the Turkmen People said. “For this reason, we are concerned about the security situation in the Caspian region.”

Hero-Arkadag noted that last year Turkmenistan took the initiative to hold the Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Caspian littoral states in Turkmenistan. In this regard, based on the proposals of the Turkmen side to grant neutral states the status of priority partners in the UN peacekeeping efforts, it was stated that Turkmenistan is ready to actively cooperate with the relevant UN structures.

For this purpose, the possibility of establishing two peacekeeping centers in Turkmenistan might be considered. Undoubtedly, the expected measures will be implemented taking into account the neutral status of Turkmenistan, which directly provides for the practical application of the norms of neutrality to maintain international peace and security, including conflict prevention, Hero-Arkadag said.

One of the priority areas of joint work in the International Year of Peace and Trust is to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. In this context, Chairman of Halk Maslahaty reaffirmed readiness of Turkmenistan to intensify national actions to fulfill the tasks of the UN Agenda 2030, as well as to contribute to international efforts in the field of sustainable development.

In this regard, confidence was expressed that initiatives of Turkmenistan to develop the Global Framework Program for Transition to Circular Economy, compile the Global Atlas of Sustainable Transport Connectivity, as well as establish the Alliance for Cooperation on Global Energy Security and Sustainable Development will effectively achieve the SDGs.

Reaffirming the readiness of Turkmenistan to continue measures to tackle significant economic, social, humanitarian, environmental and climate challenges together with its partners, Hero-Arkadag expressed confidence that  the “Turkmenistan-UN” Strategic Advisory Council established upon the initiative of Turkmenistan will assist in this regard. 

The National Leader of Turkmen people assured of readiness of Turkmenistan for further cooperation with the UN on the humanitarian agenda, as well as of strive of Turkmenistan to consistently strengthen cooperation with its specialized agencies.

In this context, based on the achievements on implementing the National Action Plan of Turkmenistan to End Statelessness for 2019-2024, it was proposed to apply the experience of Turkmenistan in international scope on working with stateless persons and refugees in Central Asia.

“This year we are facing the tasks of implementing a large-scale program of events dedicated to the implementation of the UN General Assembly Resolution “2025 - International Year of Peace and Trust” and the 30th anniversary of neutrality of Turkmenistan”.

The main one among the upcoming events will be the International Forum at the level of heads of state and chiefs of international organizations, scheduled to be held on December 12 this year in Ashgabat. In this regard, the National Leader of Turkmen people invited the UN Secretary-General to participate in the upcoming Summit.

The Secretary-General of the UN António Guterres emphasized the importance of declaring 2025 in Turkmenistan as the “International Year of Peace and Trust”, which is marked by the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s neutrality and the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the UN. In this regard, it was noted that UN specialized agencies will actively participate in international events to be organized by Turkmenistan.

Reaffirming the readiness for close cooperation with the UN, the National Leader of Turkmen people emphasized that neutral Turkmenistan has been, remains and will continue being a reliable partner, adherent and supporter of the UN in regional and global dimensions.

“At the upcoming international meetings and events in Turkmenistan, we want to place the flag of the United Nations along with the State Flag as a vivid evidence of our position. This will be an expression of pride for us, manifestation of the unity of positions and goals of neutral Turkmenistan and the UN,” said Hero-Arkadag.

The UN Secretary-General noted the relevance of all initiatives put forward by Turkmenistan in the international arena and once again reaffirmed support for the activities in this regard, realized on the basis of the principles of neutrality and peacefulness.

At the end of the telephone conversation, the National Leader of Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and the Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres expressed confidence in further enhancing strategic cooperation for peace and sustainable development in the region and the world, as well as exchanged best wishes.

The telephone conversation was held at the initiative of the UN Secretary-General.