His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister,
Distinguished Speakers,
Dear Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honor for me to address such a distinguished audience on this special occasion.

On the one hand, we are pleased to see that the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia (UNRCCA), in its fifth year of existence, has now become an indispensable actor by making increasing contributions to the stability of the region.

On the other hand, it is a source of true pride and privilege for me to share with our Turkmen brothers and sisters the seventeenth anniversary of the adoption of their Permanent Neutrality Status.

Therefore, while conveying the best wishes of Minister Davutoğlu who sincerely regret not being able to join you today, I wish to express my heartfelt thanks and appreciations to the organizers of this special conference for giving me the opportunity to be with you today.

Before commencing my remarks, allow me on behalf of the Turkish people to congratulate the people of Turkmenistan for their "Bitaraflık Günü" and in particular President Berdimuhamedov for his wisdom and able leadership. We also wish the UNRCCA continued success on its fifth anniversary.

In fact both anniversaries deserve particular attention and celebration on their own merits. The UNRCCA, for instance, is playing an important role to prevent conflicts in a vitally strategic region, while Turkmenistan is a beacon of stability in this region not least due to the principled implementation of its permanent neutrality status.

However, I believe addressing them together in a single framework is also very pertinent and meaningful. For, Turkmenistan with its peace-oriented neutrality and open doors policy is the right home for the UNRCCA which in essence helps foster peace and stability in the region.

Indeed, since the early days of its independence, Turkmenistan pursued a successful policy of neutrality., The Turkmen state, with its "active neutrality" approach, made it clear that it intends to become a center of peace and dialogue in Central Asia where everyone can feel safe and welcome. The establishment of the UNRCCA in Ashgabat in 2007 is thus a testimony to the active role Turkmenistan wants to play in its region.

The UNRCCA, on the other hand, serves as a valuable platform for dialogue and cooperation amongst the Central Asian states which are faced with multiple threats and emerging challenges. On this occasion I would like to thank Ambassador Miroslav Jenca for his able leadership of the UNRCCA.

We therefore highly appreciate the Center’s efforts in assisting and supporting Central Asian states build their conflict prevention capacities through enhanced dialogue, confidence building measures and genuine partnerships. The successful role of the Center in addressing the challenges in Kyrgyzstan is particularly worth mentioning.

Distinguished guests,

The Central Asian region lies at the economic, geopolitical and strategic crossroads between the East and the West. Given the uniqueness of this geography, it is obvious that Central Asia is a strategically important region for ensuring the security and stability of the Eurasian region. It is also a major hub of communication, energy and trade corridors stretching in all directions, from China to Russia, Europe to the Caucasus and the Indian Ocean.

Although the Central Asian countries have consolidated their independence and successfully built their statehoods within the last 20 years, stability in Central Asia still faces immense challenges stemming from some adverse regional dynamics.

Proximity of the region to Afghanistan, for instance, has a major impact on the stability of Central Asia. Indeed, the situation in Afghanistan and its possible spill-over effects continue to dominate the political and security agenda of the region, especially in view of ISAF’s withdrawal by the end of 2014.

There are of course some other issues endangering the stability of the entire region, ranging from environmental problems to scourge of terrorism. However, what is evident is that the countries of the region can remain safe and secure only if they effectively and genuinely cooperate among themselves and with the international community. This is indeed a region where common risks require joint efforts.

Therefore, it is incumbent upon us, as members of the international community, to not only engage in an effective and result-oriented cooperation with the countries of the region, but also facilitate the intra-regional collaboration in tackling common challenges.

In this regard, we highly appreciate the unrelenting efforts of Turkmenistan in this direction.

For instance, Turkmenistan actively contributes to the quest of peace and stability in Afghanistan. President Berdimuhamedov’s announcement in his speech at the 65th UN General Assembly that Turkmenistan is ready to assist inter-Afghan peace talks under the aegis of the UN reemphasizes the Turkmen commitment to peace, stability and development in Afghanistan.

I would also like to thank Turkmenistan for supporting the Istanbul Process, pioneered by Turkey and dedicated to the enhancement of regional cooperation on issues related to Afghanistan. That reflects the importance Turkmenistan attaches to the regional cooperation and ownership.

Turkmenistan also addresses the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people by undertaking many infrastructure projects, as well as supplying electricity and fuel. As an energy provider, Turkmenistan’s support is very important to Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India Pipeline (TAPI) Project. The TAPI project is of global importance in many aspects, but its most crucial contribution, when implemented, will be to the economic development of Afghanistan.

Turkmenistan’ position vis-à-vis the east-west transport corridor, the Silk Road Project is also very valuable.

All these endeavors signify another important aspect of Turkmenistan's foreign policy, that of preventive diplomacy, which is the focus of our meeting today. Indeed, by its efforts to promote regional cooperation, Turkmenistan is in fact helping to create a regional environment where risks and threats can either be prevented or resolved through positive interdependence and ownership.

This not only explains why the UN's only preventive diplomacy center is hosted in Turkmenistan, but also brings Turkey and Turkmenistan closer than ever, since our individual approaches to preventive diplomacy through regional cooperation are almost identical.

Indeed, we also believe that close cooperation between regional countries would alleviate the risk of instability and provide an appropriate ground for the settlement of disputes. In other words, regional cooperation and economic interdependence minimizes the risk of conflict and acts as a means of prevention in itself.

Of course this is of particular importance for us in Central Asia where we enjoy special bonds emanating from our common history and values. This is also why we work very closely with Turkmenistan and all the other countries of the region towards promoting cooperation rather than confrontation and enabling the opportunities to prevail over risks and threats.

For example in Kyrgyzstan, Turkey was among the first to rush to the help of this country when it came to the brink of an ethnic civil war two years ago. We then pioneered the Issyk Kul Forum to bring the conflicting parties around the table and to have them understand that there is more that unites them than those that divide.

To reduce the tension in the country and promote national ownership and cooperation, Turkey prepared Action Plans designed to prepare the groundwork for a peaceful transition through increased dialogue. And today we are extremely proud and happy to see our Kyrgyz brothers and sisters take impressive strides in consolidating their national unity and benefiting from the dividends of peace and development.

That said, Turkey's efforts to prevent conflicts and engage in peace mediation go much beyond Central Asia and its immediate neighborhood. Our endeavors to facilitate reconciliation and cooperation among different parties in various theatres such as Iraq, Lebanon, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and Iran are just a few other examples of Turkey’s mediation attempts.

We are also very active within the UN in raising awareness of the importance of mediation as the most effective means of conflict prevention and building the capacity of the international community for peace mediation. The "Mediation for Peace" initiative we have launched in 2010 together with Finland, for instance, has quickly become the central forum for discussion and coordination on mediation related issues both in the UN and elsewhere.

Thanks to this initiative, the UN General Assembly has last year adopted its first ever resolution on mediation, which was co-drafted by Turkey and Finland. In line with this resolution Turkey actively continues its efforts to build international capacity for mediation, while trying to enhance coordination and cooperation in order to increase the effectiveness of our mediation efforts.

In this regard, we are extremely mindful of the vital role that regional organizations and countries can play in preventing or resolving the conflicts in their regions. This is why we are actively engaged with almost every regional organization to raise awareness and build capacity. This is also why we have led and participated in several trilateral cooperation schemes between parties to conflicts, be it between Afghanistan and Pakistan or Bosnia and Serbia or Sudan and South Sudan.

We also attach great importance to the central role of the UN in promoting and facilitating preventive diplomacy. We believe that it is time for the UN to step up its efforts to better use its legitimacy and disseminate its expertise on a wider scale with a view to helping build peace and stability in areas ridden by multidimensional conflicts.

In this context, the UNRCCA is certainly a uniquely valuable platform in bringing the UN's expertise and commitment to Central Asia. Established with the consensus of all the Central Asian states, the Center is not only addressing specific challenges faced by the region, but also helping to build a common culture of peace mediation and preventive diplomacy in a strategically important part of the world.

However, we need to go beyond this. The UN must establish dedicated centers of excellence to promote mediation and conflict prevention. In this regard, Turkey has volunteered to host such a UN Mediation Center in Istanbul which can serve as a hub for training, capacity-building, coordination and actual mediation itself. We are currently in contact with the UN Secretariat as to how best we can go ahead with this idea and I am confident that we will soon start acting upon it.

Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,

In concluding, let me come back to the centrality of Central Asia in many respects. Indeed, throughout history many states and civilizations took root in Central Asia. This strong heritage of Central Asia renders it with great potential to influence the international community on a host of issues.

We hope and remain confident that preventive diplomacy and regional cooperation will be among those areas where the Central Asian states will set an example to the international community.

As a brotherly nation with a common history and shared values, Turkey is proud of Turkmenistan's achievements and look forward to further advancing our cooperation in every possible field.

In fact, over the last 20 years we have already built a solid ground for the rapid advancement of our relations. We have diversified the basis of our cooperation and taken particularly impressive steps in enhancing our economic and commercial relations. As a result, today, Turkmenistan is one of the major partners of Turkey in the region and beyond. And we are convinced that the best of our cooperation is yet to come...

Before closing, I once again congratulate the anniversary of the Permanent Neutrality Status of Turkmenistan.

Thank you.