Meeting between Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP), UN Deputy Secretary General Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana has been held in video conference format on February 4.

The sides have highly appreciated current level of cooperation between Turkmenistan and ESCAP, which is filled in new content, in particular, in such main directions as energy, statistics, trade, transport, migration management, reduction of risk of natural and emergencies and other directions.

It was mentioned that Turkmenistan welcomes work of ESCAP, including work for consulting and training of personnel, summarization of regional practice and information. The ESCAP is one of the partners in execution of the Framework Program of Cooperation between the Government of Turkmenistan and the United Nations Organization in Sustainable Development in 2021 – 2025, which was signed last March.

The commitment of the Government of Turkmenistan to realization of the Sustainable Development Agenda until 2030, which is clearly reflected in national programs and in cooperation with regional and international partners, has been confirmed at the meeting. 

Thus, the number of initiatives of Turkmen side on cooperation with ESCAP aimed at solution of social, economic and ecological issues in Central Asian countries and in neighboring regions, has been presented.

Situation in the world caused by the pandemic has become a separate topic of discussion. It was mentioned that Turkmenistan led by the President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov is willing to work together for recovery of economic, social and financial impacts of the epidemics and calls for strengthening of multilateral partnership in this direction. 

Joint activities taking into account the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) has been discussed at the meeting. Specific actions of Turkmenistan in migration sphere, which are implemented on national level, has been presented.

The sides have made special mention of the region of Central Asia. It was noted that Turkmenistan plays an important role in economic integration and strengthening of humanitarian cooperation in the region. Head of the state Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov pays special attention to ecological issues and rational use of water resources. In particular, the Aral Sea problem has been discussed. 

During the meeting, the main aspects of cooperation under the UN Special Program for Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), opportunities of expansion of cooperation in statistics and trade, in particular by application of practice in cross-border paperless trade on the ESCAP platform, have been reviewed. 

It was mentioned that Turkmenistan is ready to continue cooperating with the UN and its regional commissions for sustainable development.