The thirteenth annual Meeting of Deputy Foreign Ministers of the Central Asian states, convened by the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), took place in Bishkek on 27-28 November. The meeting brought together the Deputy Foreign Ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Taking into consideration the importance of Afghanistan for regional security and development, H.E. Rosa Otunbayeva, the Special Representative of Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) was also invited.
The high-level event was opened by H.E. Jeenbek Kulubayev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, who stressed the importance of close cooperation between the Central Asian states and the United Nations on issues of mutual concern related to strengthening peace and security in the region.
In his statement the Special Representative of Secretary-General for Central Asia, Head of UNRCCA, Kaha Imnadze, underlined that the Central Asian states are maintaining multi-vector foreign policy and strengthening their connectivity despite the complexity of intertwined global challenges. He stressed that UNRCCA will continue active cooperation with the Central Asian governments in the existing and new areas related to preventive diplomacy.
The meeting provided an opportunity to exchange views on challenges in Central Asia and ways to address them. Particular attention was paid to climate change and trans-boundary water management, preventing violent extremism and countering terrorism, as well as risks related to the situation in Afghanistan. Participants explored ways on how the UN Regional Centre could further support preventive diplomacy efforts, including through the increased role of women and youth in decision making.
During the event, UNRCCA also hosted the fifth regional dialogue between the high-level officials and young people of the Central Asian states. This year, the UNRCCA Preventive Diplomacy Academy participants shared their vision on sustainable development as a foundation for long-term peace, security and prosperity in the region.
The next annual Deputy Foreign Ministers meeting is tentatively planned to take place in Uzbekistan at the end of 2024. ///UNRCCA, 28 November 2023
Participation of the delegation of Turkmenistan in the 13th annual meeting of the Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Central Asian States
On November 27-28, 2023, the delegation of Turkmenistan led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs M.Byashimova took part in the 13th annual meeting of the Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Central Asian states, organized by the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) with the support of the government of the Kyrgyz Republic.
During the meeting, participants exchanged views on events and trends affecting peace and security in Central Asia, the situation in Afghanistan and aspects of regional cooperation aimed at combining efforts to resolve these issues, and also discussed interaction between UNRCCA and the governments of the region in areas related to with preventive diplomacy.
The meeting participants highly appreciated the long-term partnership and trust that had developed over the years between the governments of the five Central Asian states and UNRCCA. The parties expressed support for the activities of the Regional Center in its priority areas, including preventing extremism and countering terrorism, climate change and water diplomacy, as well as dialogues within the framework of the global agendas “Women, Peace and Security” and “Youth, Peace and Security”.
Also during the meeting, the Fifth Dialogue between the governments and youth of Central Asia took place. Participants from the Academy of Preventive Diplomacy, representing all five countries in the region, met with deputy foreign ministers to share their vision for the future of the region.
As part of the visit, the delegation of Turkmenistan visited the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, during which M.Byashimova familiarized the participants in detail with the work carried out in Turkmenistan in the fields of education and science, including the youth policy of Turkmenistan.
Also during the meeting, the possibility of working on developing a Memorandum of Understanding between this Academy and one of the universities of Turkmenistan was considered. ///MFA Turkmenistan, 28 Nov 2023