ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan

Twelfth annual Meeting of Deputy Foreign Ministers of Central Asian states, organized by the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) with the support of the Government of Turkmenistan, took place on 11 December, in Ashgabat.

The purpose of the annual meeting was to exchange views on developments and trends affecting peace and security in Central Asia as well as to discuss the cooperation between UNRCCA and the Governments of the region in areas related to preventive diplomacy. 

Addressing the meeting, the Special Representative of Secretary-General for Central Asia, Head of UNRCCA, Natalia Gherman underlined that “despite the current challenging global situation, countries of the region maintained regular contacts at different levels, including at the highest political level, to secure cooperation in the security, energy, climate change and other fields”.  

On the occasion of the 15^th anniversary of UNRCCA, the Deputy Foreign Ministers appreciated the long-standing partnership and trust, developed over years, between the Governments of the Five Central Asian states and UNRCCA. They expressed support to the activities of the Regional Centre in its priority areas, including preventing extremism and countering terrorism, climate change and water diplomacy as well as dialogues on “Women, Peace and Security” and “Youth, Peace and Security”.

Within the framework of the high-level meeting, the UNRCCA hosted the Fourth Dialogue between the Governments and youth of Central Asia. Ten Preventive Diplomacy Academy participants, representing all five countries of the region, met with the Deputy Foreign Ministers to share their vision on the future of the region.

The Twelfth Meeting of Deputy Foreign Ministers of Central Asian states concluded a series of events devoted to the 27^th anniversary of Neutrality of Turkmenistan and the 15^th anniversary of UNRCCA, which took place in Ashgabat on 10-11 December 2022.