Tariq Saeedi and Elvira Kadyrova
Turkmenistan hosted an international conference “Interconnection of Times and Civilizations – the Basis of Peace and Development” on 11 October 2024. It coincided with the 300th anniversary of Maktymguli Fraghi, the national poet of Turkmenistan.
The conference was a mega event, with hundreds of journalists from more than a dozen countries covering it.
Here is the list of the heads of delegations:
Heads of State:
- PUTIN Vladimir Vladimirovich – President of the Russian Federation
- KHACHATURYAN Vahagn Garnikovich – President of the Republic of Armenia
- Masoud PEZESHKIAN – President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
- TOKAEV Kassym-Zhomart Kemelevich – President of the Republic of Kazakhstan
- ZHAPAROV Sadyr Nurgozhoevich – President of the Kyrgyz Republic
- Ukhnagiin KHURELSUKH – President of Mongolia
- Asif Ali ZARDARI – President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
- Emomali RAHMON – President of the Republic of Tajikistan
- BERDIMUHAMEDOV Serdar Gurbangulyevich – President of Turkmenistan
- MIRZIYOYEV Shavkat Miromonovich – President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Heads of international organizations:
- LEBEDEV Sergey Nikolaevich – Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Independent States
- OMURALIEV Kubanychbek Kasymovich – Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States
- RAYEV Sultan Akimovich – Secretary General of the International Organization of Turkic Culture
- Asad Majid KHAN – Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization
Heads of delegations:
- Numan KURTULMUS – Chairman of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
- SUN Yeli – Minister of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China
- Noura Bint Mohammed AL KAABI – Minister of State of the United Arab Emirates
- Chinara RUSTAMOVA – Secretary-General of Turkmenistan for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- Janesh KAIN – Deputy Secretary General of the SCO
- Musa KULAKLYKAYA – Deputy Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
- Sayyid Syed Sultan AL BUSAIDI – Minister of Youth, Culture and Sports of the Sultanate of Oman
- Faisal bin Rashid ISA AL KHALIFA – Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council for Environment of the Kingdom of Bahrain
- Hervé MOREY – Chairman of the Interparliamentary Friendship Group “Central Asia – France” of the Senate of the French Republic
- Arif Hammoud Salim AL SAEDI – Adviser to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq on Cultural Affairs
This event was yet another manifestation of the active neutrality of Turkmenistan.
Before commenting on the active and positive nature of the neutrality of Turkmenistan, let’s look very briefly at the idea of neutrality in international relations.
>>> Neutrality has been recognised in different ways, and sometimes involves a formal guarantor. For example, Switzerland and Belgium’s neutrality was recognized by the signatories of the Congress of Vienna, Austria has its neutrality guaranteed by its four former occupying powers, and Finland by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. [Gärtner, Heinz (2023). “Great Power Conflict”. China and Eurasian powers in a Multipolar World Order 2.0: Security, Diplomacy, Economy and Cyberspace. Mher Sahakyan. New York]
>>> The form of recognition varies, often by bilateral treaty (Finland), multilateral treaty (Austria) or a UN declaration (Turkmenistan). These treaties can in some ways be forced on a country (Austria’s neutrality was insisted upon by the Soviet Union) but in other cases it is an active policy of the country concerned to respond to a geopolitical situation (Ireland in the Second World War). [Neutral European Countries – http://nato.gov.si/eng/topic/national-security/neutral-status/neutral-countries/]
For the country concerned, the policy is usually codified beyond the treaty itself. Austria and Japan codify their neutrality in their constitutions, but they do so with different levels of detail. Some details of neutrality are left to be interpreted by the government while others are explicitly stated.
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The neutrality of Turkmenistan, nearing its 30th anniversary next year, is a living organism. It was in motion right from the moment of its proclamation in 1995.
Soon after being recognized as a permanently neutral country by the UN in December 1995, Turkmenistan offered its services for the mediation between the opposing factions in the Tajik Civil War. The government that came into existence as a result of the successful negotiations in Ashgabat, is still functioning productively in Tajikistan. The peace and growing prosperity in Tajikistan is a fruit of the dedicated neutrality of Turkmenistan.
The United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) was established in December 2007 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, to assist and support the five countries of Central Asia – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – in building their conflict prevention capacities through enhanced dialogue, confidence-building measures and genuine partnership so as to respond to existing threats and emerging challenges in the region. The Centre was established at the request of the five countries and is headed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Kaha Imnadze.
The wide-ranging and result-oriented activities of the UNRCCA reflect on the vibrant nature of the neutrality of Turkmenistan.
Turkmenistan has contributed hugely toward restoring peace in Afghanistan and the economic rebuild of the country.
The electricity provided by Turkmenistan to Afghanistan at highly subsidized rates for more than a couple of decades is a solid proof of the commitment of Turkmenistan toward peace and genuine friendship.
Afghanistan also gets fuel and several other products at special rates from Turkmenistan.
The energy resources of Turkmenistan, as described by its leadership a number of times, are not just a source of revenue. With its energy resources, Turkmenistan promotes development and partnership through the vehicle of its dynamic neutrality.
At the international level, Turkmenistan has always been vocal for the global peace through cooperation and negotiation. The year 2025, at the proposal of Turkmenistan, has been declared the year of peace and trust by the UN.
The conference on 11 October 2024, proved yet again that the world recognizes and supports the proactive neutrality of Turkmenistan.
At the conference, there were nine presidents: Russia, Armenia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
The other high-level guests included the chairman of the parliament of Türkiye, The minister of culture and tourism of China, the minister of state of the UAE, the minister of youth, culture and sports of Oman, the deputy chairman of the supreme council for environment of Bahrain, the advisor to the Prime Minister of Iraq, and the chairman of the inter-parliamentary friendship group Central Asia-France of the senate of France.
Several international and regional organizations were represented at the highest level: CIS, OTS, Turksoy, ECO, SCO, and OIC.
Their combined presence underlines the support of the world community for the efforts and initiatives of Turkmenistan for peace and friendship. /// nCa, 13 October 2024