OSCE Secretary General and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan address conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the OSCE Centre

ASHGABAT, 17 April 2019 – An OSCE-organized conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat took place yesterday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan in Ashgabat.

The conference brought together some 80 representatives of the host government, national partner institutions and organizations, civil society and diplomatic corps as well as the Slovak OSCE Chairmanship and the OSCE Secretariat, institutions and other structures.

Opening the conference, OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger commended the efficiency and positive impact of OSCE-Turkmenistan joint activities during the past 20 years: “OSCE field operations are an excellent tool for co-operation. Setting priorities together is helping us to advance active co-operation and understand better where comparative advantages lie in supporting the partnership with Turkmenistan.”

“Active participation in the OSCE’s activities is one of the important directions of Turkmenistan’s foreign policy strategy,” said Rashid Meredov, Deputy Chairperson of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. “The work of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat over the past 20 years is commendable. We intend to continue and strengthen our co-operation.”

Tomáš Bičan, First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Slovakia to the OSCE, representing the 2019 OSCE Chairmanship said: “The last 20 years have demonstrated that the OSCE is a flexible and responsive organization, working hand in hand with its participating States. With its open-ended mandate, the Centre in Ashgabat, together with the government of Turkmenistan, has established a solid foundation to continue their positive co-operation in the coming years.”

Natalya Drozd, Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat said that OSCE-Turkmenistan relationship has come a long way in the two decades of the Centre’s existence. “There is a great potential for continuing and strengthening our important dialogue based on trust and co-operation,” she said.

Jehangir Khan, the Director of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, Elena Panova, UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan, and Lubomir Frebort, EU Liaison Office in Turkmenistan, elaborated on the interaction between the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat and other international organizations present in Turkmenistan.

Kasymguly Babayev, Deputy Chairperson of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan, Yazdursun Gurbannazarova, Ombudsperson of Turkmenistan, and Esen Aydogdyyev, Rector of the International University for Humanities and Development, highlighted the main areas of co-operation and joint achievements in the 20 years of the OSCE Centre’s activities.

The OSCE Centre in Ashgabat was established in 1999 to assist Turkmenistan in implementing its OSCE commitments in the politico-military, economic and environmental and human dimensions of security. The main areas of the OSCE’s co-operation with Turkmenistan include border management, transnational threats, confidence- and security-building measures, good governance, economic connectivity, transport facilitation, development of renewable energy and environmental protection, as well as human rights, gender equality and media development.

To mark its 20th anniversary, the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat also organized a photo exhibition entitled The World Around Us, presenting photographs taken by the participants of the photography and photojournalism master class for persons with disabilities organized by the Centre in February. The Centre also exhibited photographs taken during the 20 years of its activities.