President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov received UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Miroslav Yencha, and Special Envoy and Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) Natalia Herman who arrived in the Turkmen capital and took part in the 5th Asian Games closing ceremony. The guests conveyed warm greetings to the head of state on behalf of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who sent the best wishes to all the Turkmen people. Cooperation between Turkmenistan and the UN, which is steadily developing for peace and general well-being, was highly appreciated. Having congratulated the President of Turkmenistan on the completion of the Ashgabat 2017 Games, the guests noted that its competitions were the best in the history of the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, and they will, undoubtedly, contribute the Turkmen state’s prestige in the world arena, having become a starting point for wide and long-term cooperation between Turkmenistan and the United Nations in such new area as sport. President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov sent the best regards to the United Nations Secretary-General, having emphasized that active collaboration with the Community of Nations and its major agencies is one of the key lines of the foreign policy strategy of Turkmenistan that marks this year the 25th anniversary of joining the United Nations, as well as 10 years of UNRCCA activity, the creation of which is a landmark event in the history of bilateral cooperation. The 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games were the first sporting event of this level in the history of Central Asia, the Turkmen leader stressed. Their distinctive feature is that, in addition to the athletes from Asian countries, they were for the first time attended by athletes from the states of Oceania and the refugees’ team. Today, sport is becoming an important element of human interaction, an instrument of mutual understanding and tolerance between nations and people of different faiths and beliefs, the head of state said. UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Miroslav Yencha stressed that for all the past years Turkmenistan’s relations with the United Nations have been developing steadily. The UN General Assembly adopted a number of resolutions initiated by President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov, which are of great importance for the whole world community. Within the UN framework the s of the Turkmen state with steadily growing prestige in the capacity of a responsible member of the Community of Nations, found broad responce. Mr. Miroslav Yenca took an opportunity to introduce newly appointed Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Central Asia, head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) Natalia Herman. During the meeting the priority aspects of cooperation related to a wide range of issues were discussed. In this context, the relevance of international initiatives put forward by the Turkmen leader was pointed out, including in the fields of forming the new global energy security architecture, general disarmament, peaceful settlement of the situation in Afghanistan and the economic revival of this country, addressing the issues of efficient use of transboundary water resources, and environmental protection. In a conversation the leader of nation and the guests focused on the challenges faced by the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia. At the same time, special emphasis was made on effective use of the existing in Turkmenistan infrastructural capacities to enhance activities of various UN agencies directly in the regions of Central Asia and the Caspian Basin. Partnership in these areas is of a long-term nature, conducted in a systematic way, and is based on the similar principles and views on the final result. During the meeting, some issues of regional and international policy, which are of mutual interest, were also discussed.