THE LAUNCHING CEREMONY OF THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF PEACE AND TRUST TOOK PLACE AT THE UN HEADQUARTERS

On January 17, 2025, the opening ceremony of the International Year of Peace and Trust was held at the UN headquarters in New York in the Economic and Social Council Hall.

The event, organized by the Permanent Mission of Turkmenistan, was attended by high-level representatives of the United Nations.

In his speech, the representative of Turkmenistan emphasized the importance of the International Year of Peace and Trust. This year, the country honors the 30th anniversary of the status of permanent neutrality, which is embedded in the relevant UN General Assembly Resolutions adopted in 1995 and 2015.

The UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenča, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Ángel Moratinos, Under-Secretary-General and Head of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office Vladimir Voronkov, Head of the Office of the President of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly Ivor Richard Fang made addresses at the event.

On behalf of the UN Secretary-General, Miroslav Jenča emphasized the central role of Turkmenistan in promoting the culture of peace, trust and dialogue at the global level and expressed his gratitude to the leadership of Turkmenistan for supporting the efforts of the United Nations to strengthen stability and security at the regional and global levels.

In this regard, the significance of the telephone conversation between the National Leader of Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Secretary-General of the UN António Guterres held on January 14, 2025 was emphasized.

During the speeches, the participants outlined their vision on the implementation of the tasks set out in the Concept of the Activities and Priorities of Turkmenistan within the framework of the International Year of Peace and Trust. The sides exchanged views on the activities for the current year. 

In particular, it was noted that the International Forum for Peace and Trust is scheduled to be held in Ashgabat in December 2025, which will bring together participants from around the world to consolidate efforts and develop concrete further steps to strengthen the global culture of peace.

The second segment of the event included speeches by the heads of diplomatic missions of Uganda on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, Iraq on behalf of the “Group of 77”, Egypt on behalf of the Arab Group, Venezuela on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter, the Executive Secretary of the Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport and other delegations.

The participants supported the Roadmap based on the Concept of the Activities and Priorities of Turkmenistan within the framework of the International Year of Peace and Trust which was presented during the event, and expressed readiness for close cooperation to strengthen trustful interstate, as well as international dialog as a key element of peacekeeping.

The event reiterated the commitment of Turkmenistan to multifaceted cooperation with the international community to achieve the global goals of peace, security, stability and sustainable development.