High Level UN-Central Asian Dialogue on the Implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia

High Level UN-Central Asian Dialogue on the Implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

14 Jun 2017

High Level UN-Central Asian Dialogue on the Implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia

On June 13th, 2017, a High-Level UN-Central Asian Dialogue on the Implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia was held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, organized by the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) of the Counter Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) Office and the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA).

The High-Level Dialogue was chaired by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. António Guterres, and brought together the Foreign Ministers of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the Minister of Interior of Tajikistan and the Deputy Foreign Ministers of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, together with two representatives of relevant institutions dealing with counter-terrorism from each Central Asian country. Representatives of the EU and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Turkmenistan attended the Meeting as observers.

The purpose of the meeting was to review progress on the implementation of the Joint Plan of Action (JPoA) in Central Asia, adopted in 2011, and to define future strategic priorities for the implementation of the JPoA in the region. The event came at the conclusion of the second phase of the project “Towards the Implementation of the Joint Plan of Action for the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia,” jointly implemented by CTITF and UNRCCA and provided an opportunity to identify priority areas for the third and final phase of the joint project.

The Central Asian States were also briefed during the meeting on the outcomes of the Fifth Review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the Secretary-General’s initiative to restructure the United Nations counter-terrorism architecture by establishing a new Office of Counter-Terrorism.

At the end of the meeting, an Ashgabat Declaration was adopted unanimously by all five Central Asian States.