Press release of the international forum "Dialogue - guarantee of peace" in Ashgabat

On December 11, 2023, the international conference "Dialogue - a guarantee of peace" was held in the conference hall of the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, dedicated to the International Day of Neutrality and the 28th anniversary of the permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan.

The forum was attended by the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the heads of turkmen diplomatic missions abroad, heads and representatives of foreign diplomatic missions accredited in Turkmenistan, leading representatives of international organizations, representatives of public organizations, national and foreign mass media.

The high-level forum, the representative composition of its participants became a confirmation of the growing interest in balanced domestic and foreign policy of Turkmenistan, understanding by the international community of the significance and the role of legal status of neutrality as an important factor in ensuring security, stability and global sustainable development.

As is known, the global initiative "Dialogue - a guarantee of peace" was put forward by the National Leader of the Turkmen People, the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan in 2021 in Ashgabat at the Peace and Trust Forum. It was unanimously supported by the UN General Assembly, which adopted a resolution on December 6 last year entitled "International year for dialogue as a guarantee of peace, 2023".

In his speech, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov noted the success achieved in the implementation of the "Dialogue - Guarantee of Peace" initiative at various international platforms, first of all, at the UN, which was further supported by the adoption of relevant international documents and the holding of international events.

It was emphasized that the initiative was the result of a careful and objective analysis of the current international situation, character and trend in interstate relations. Along with this, it acts as a call to all states to realize their responsibility for the fate of the world, to stop the growing pressure of escalation and intolerance, to soberly analyze the current situation in the world, to rethink it from historical and perspective points of view.

It was also noted that Dialogue, which acts as a guarantee of peace on the planet, is a living, creative process that is designed to cover a wide range of activities. In this context, it is indicated that it is expedient to extend the projection of this formula to the solution of universal problems in such areas as environmental change, refugee problems, ensuring food security, and a number of other important humanitarian issues. At the same time, it was suggested that, together with partners from interested states, international specialized organizations should think about the formation of program actions in the indicated directions in the medium-term perspective.

Dignitaries of authoritative international organizations, associations and foreign ministries in their speeches presented their vision of the positive role of independent, neutral Turkmenistan in strengthening international relations, emphasized Turkmenistan's contribution to solving global problems, and congratulated the participants of the conference and the Turkmen people on the International Day of Neutrality.

At the end of the plenary session, the work of the International Conference "Dialogue - a guarantee of peace" continued in the framework of four thematic sessions, which were held in a mixed format.

The first of them is "Using dialogue as the main instrument of preventive action". During this session, an exchange of views was held on ways to restore values, worldviews and traditions of preservation and promotion of peace, laid down in the Global Declaration in the field of peace culture.

In the second thematic session "On the role of women in establishing peace through dialogue", the participants emphasized that women play a fundamental role in the development of intercultural dialogue, in increasing the operational efficiency of the security sector, and in establishing sustainable peace and security around the world.

The third thematic session "Voice of Youth: Expanding the Opportunities of Future Generations through Dialogue" was held to exchange opinions on expanding the opportunities of the new generation to actively participate in the formation of a sustainable and viable future of their country and the whole world.

The fourth thematic session "International cooperation: Diplomatic dialogue on global cooperation in the field of environment" considered the features of the development of international cooperation to solve environmental problems.

At the end of the Forum and thematic sessions, a final document was adopted.