ASHGABAT (TCA) — On December 11, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) conducted a Meeting of Central Asian Foreign Ministers, on the occasion of the Centre’s 10th anniversary and the International Neutrality Day. This meeting, which brought together Ministers and Deputy Ministers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan, provided an opportunity to exchange views on peace and security developments in the region, and agree on ways to enhance regional cooperation, with the support of UNRCCA.
Addressing the meeting, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Head of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), Ms. Natalia Gherman underlined that the UN as a whole and the UNRCCA in particular welcomed the increased potential for regional cooperation, and emerging opportunities to further advance preventive diplomacy in Central Asia.
During the meeting, participants expressed their support to the Centre’s fourth Programme of Action for the period 2018-2020, focused on supporting Central Asian states’ efforts to address existing and emerging challenges and threats that the region is facing. Within this framework, Gherman outlined the Centre’s planned activities for 2018, which range from water diplomacy, preventing extremism and countering terrorism, building preventive capacities in the region to supporting integration efforts between Central Asia and Afghanistan.
The meeting concluded with the adoption of a joint Declaration, which welcomes General Assembly resolution 72/7 on the role of UNRCCA and underlines the importance of consolidating regional dialogue and cooperation mechanisms in Central Asia.
Prior to this Ministerial encounter, UNRCCA, together with Central Asian delegates and representatives of international and regional organizations and the diplomatic community attended the International Conference “Neutrality Policy and Preventive Diplomacy in International Relations: Experience of Turkmenistan and its Significance”, held at the Institute of International Relations in Ashgabat. On behalf of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, SRSG Gherman congratulated Turkmenistan with the upcoming International Day of Neutrality on 12 December, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 71/275, adopted on 2 February 2017, at the initiative of Turkmenistan.
In the past decade, UNRCCA has actively worked to promote preventive diplomacy in the region and to mainstream Central Asian peace and security issues into the UN’s global agenda. In June 2017, the Centre coordinated the visit of Secretary General Antonio Guterres to the region, who encouraged all Central Asian states to closely cooperate in support of peace, security, human rights and development for all in Central Asia.
EurasiaNet
