President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, who was on a working visit to the United States of America to participate in the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, took part in the first historic meeting of C5+1 platform of multilateral cooperation.
This first presidential summit was a good opportunity to discuss a range of issues, including those related to regional security, trade, connectivity and climate change.
Steadily following its foreign-policy course, based on the legal status of permanent neutrality, Turkmenistan, under the leadership of the head of state, expands fruitful interaction with all interested parties. Our country, taking an active and proactive position in developing decisions on pressing issues on the global agenda, makes a significant contribution to ensuring peace, security and stability and strengthening strategic partnerships for the sake of universal wellbeing.
When building international relations, the Turkmen state proceeds from the importance of taking into account the interests of all parties, on the basis of goodwill, equality and exchange of best practices and positive ideas. This approach not only fully complies with the goals and Charter of the UN, but also contributes to the establishment of strong interstate contacts, mutual understanding and trust with neighbouring countries in the region and with the United States of America.
Turkmenistan is known to successfully cooperate with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan both through the largest international organisations and authoritative regional structures, and within the framework of the C5+1 diplomatic platform. Since its creation in 2015, this mechanism has established itself as an effective regional platform for deepening economic cooperation and maintaining security and sustainable development in Central Asia. At the same time, over these years, the USA–Central Asian countries dialogue has expanded through ministerial interactions, expert meetings and thematic working groups on economy, energy, environment and security.
In 2022, the C5+1 Secretariat was established to develop formal procedures, to define and promote shared priorities, to coordinate communications among participating governments and to plan high-level ministerial meetings and other events. Currently, within the framework of this format, joint work continues to strengthen the security, stability and prosperity of the Central Asian region.
The current major diplomatic event, taking place with the participation of the Heads of Turkmenistan, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United States of America, is a significant event in the history of relations between the Central Asian states and the United States.
The agenda included a wide range of issues related to the expansion of economic and energy cooperation, the ensuring of food security, climate change and the struggle against the challenges and threats of our time. In addition, major international and regional issues of mutual interest were discussed.
...In the afternoon, the motorcade of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov headed to the building of the US Mission to the United Nations, where the first C5+1 meeting of multilateral cooperation between the heads of state of Central Asia and the United States of America was held.
The high-level event, chaired by the President of the United States of America Joseph Biden, was also attended by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
As it was noted, the meeting demonstrated the desire and general mood for the development of the long-term strategic relations between the Central Asian states and the United States of America. This approach is conditioned by the friendly and respectful nature of interaction, the accumulated positive experience and traditions of partnership, the awareness of mutual benefits and the real assessment of the great potential that can and should be used for the benefit of peace, stability, economic growth and prosperity of Central Asia.
During the meeting, an interested discussion on current issues of six-party cooperation took place. In the speeches of the heads of state of Central Asia and the United States, priority vectors for further joint activities were outlined.
According to the participants of the high-level meeting, peaceful and prosperous Central Asia requires continued commitment to the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries through compliance with the UN Charter and its fundamental principles. As it was noted, the Summit would give an impetus to strengthening mutual understanding and trust, ensuring security and stability and creating favourable conditions for expanding trade and economic cooperation in Central Asia.
In general, the Summit opened a new page in the history of fruitful six-format interaction. The practical implementation of the constructive initiatives put forward in the near future will make it possible to expand established contacts for the sake of ensuring peace, stability, sustainable development and prosperity in the region and throughout the world.
On the same day, the Head of Turkmenistan, on the side-lines of the UN General Assembly, met with the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.
Then President Serdar Berdimuhamedov proceeded to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he took part in the official reception on behalf of the President of the United States on the occasion of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.
It is appropriate to note that the Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the largest art museums in the world. It was founded in 1870 and first opened its doors to visitors in February 1872. The Metropolitan moved to its current building, designed in the neo-Gothic style by American architects Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould and located in Fifth Avenue, in 1880.
The Museum currently houses millions of exhibits, having the most complete and representative collections of ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman arts, extensive collections on the art and culture of the Near and Far East and on the art of Islam. The arts of the peoples of Asia and Africa, Oceania and America are beautifully presented.
In recent years, as part of the intensification of cultural contacts, museum collections of our country have begun to be presented abroad, helping popularise the national heritage. An example of this is an exhibition entitled “Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs” organised in 2016, which was exhibited for three months at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Then it included exhibits from museums in our country, demonstrating the level of development of arts in the cradle of the state of the Great Seljuqs – Ancient Merv.
At the end of the reception and the programme of the working visit to New York, the President of Turkmenistan proceeded to the J.F. Kennedy International Airport, from where he departed for his Motherland.
After a multi-hour flight to Ashgabat, the presidential airliner landed at International Airport of the capital, where Head of State Serdar Berdimuhamedov was met by officials who congratulated the head of state on his successful visit to New York City in the United States and widespread support for his historic speech from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly.
Thanks to the initiatives started by the Hero-Arkadag and worthily continued by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, our Motherland has achieved great success in all areas in recent years. One of the main directions of Turkmenistan’s foreign-policy strategy has become the development of multilateral relations with any interested country in the world and authoritative international organisations, including the UN and its specialised structures.
Thanking everyone for their kind words and congratulations, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov emphasised with satisfaction that the country’s international relations, based on the policy of universal peace, good neighbourliness and neutrality, have reached a new level of development. In this context, it was noted that the initiatives of the independent and neutral state, aimed at ensuring sustainable development and security in the world for the benefit of all humankind, were receiving wide resonance throughout the world. This determines the authority of Turkmenistan on the international arena.
It was emphasised that the initiatives put forward by the President of Turkmenistan at the UN General Assembly had received broad support from member countries of the world community. This visit of the Head of Turkmenistan inspired our people to new labour achievements and became another confirmation that great things of global importance, carried out under the leadership of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, are a great success.