Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 11 December, in Ashgabat, a delegation of Uzbekistan headed by the Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis took part in the International Conference "Dialogue is a Guarantee of Peace", timed to coincide with the celebration of the 27th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s neutrality.

The event was attended by Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan R. Meredov, Deputy Secretary General of the UN, Executive Secretary of the EEC O. Algaerova, Secretary General of the OTS K. Omuraliev, EU Special Representative for Central Asia T. Hakala, Deputy Head of the UN Mission for Assistance to Afghanistan (UNAMA) M. Potzel, members of the Central Asian Women’s Dialogue, heads of the diplomatic corps of foreign countries and representative offices of international organizations in Ashgabat, as well as in the format of a video message, the UN Under-Secretaries-General, the head of the Counter-Terrorism Directorate V. Voronkov and the head of the UN office in Geneva T.Valovaya, high representatives of other authoritative international organizations.

At the opening of the conference, R. Meredov emphasized that the country’s neutrality is based on the long-standing traditions of peace-loving and humanity of the Turkmen people, and the initiative of Turkmenistan on Dialogue as a guarantee of peace introduced a new, philosophical paradigm to interstate relations.

In the address of the UN Secretary-General A. Guterres, read out to the conference participants, it was noted that the UN and its specialized agencies will continue to support the global efforts and initiatives of the Central Asian countries aimed at ensuring peace, security and sustainable development in general.

Representatives of international organizations that took part in the conference emphasized that there are few such examples in the world community as Central Asian regional cooperation, which shows consistency and effectiveness in making constructive decisions that are highly recognized by the world community.

The Chairperson of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan T. Narbayeva took part in the forum, and in her speech she noted that bilateral relations between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have acquired the character of a strategic partnership in the spirit of centuries-old friendship, good neighborliness and mutual support of fraternal peoples.

The general political will and the established trust-based dialogue at the highest level are the main guarantee for the further strengthening of Uzbek-Turkmen relations.

In turn, the Turkmen side noted that, in general, the contribution of Uzbekistan to the development of regional cooperation between the countries of Central Asia is invaluable, and thanks to the efforts of the heads of the two countries in recent years, Turkmen-Uzbek cooperation has reached a completely new level.

Between the states, inter-parliamentary cooperation is intensively increasing, as well as interaction within the framework of the Dialogue of Women of Central Asia.

As emphasized, the Chairperson of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan plays an important role in promoting the rights of women in the region within the framework of the Dialogue.

Within the framework of the plenary session of the conference, 3 panel sessions were also held: “Dialogue as a basis for preventive activities and conflict prevention”, “Strengthening food and environmental security through dialogue”, “Multilateral cooperation in cyberspace and the role of information networks in establishing international dialogue”, during which the participants discussed practical issues of strengthening international cooperation and consolidating efforts in these areas.

In conclusion, on the basis of an open exchange of views and a broad expert discussion of the issues on the agenda, specific proposals and recommendations were developed, which were reflected in the final document of the forum.