Turkmenistan is the Elected Chairman of the Energy Charter Conference

One of the key vectors of Turkmenistan's foreign policy is to strengthen and develop international cooperation in many strategic directions. It is well known that in 2007 at the 62nd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, President of Turkmenistan put forward a proposal to establish a new international legal mechanism for energy security. The UN Resolutions on Reliable and Stable Transit of Energy to World Markets adopted in 2008 and 2013 set out basic principles and approaches to the development of constructive interaction in this subject matter.

In this area, Turkmenistan actively cooperates with major international organizations, and is often the venue for multilateral meetings and forums. Partnership with the Energy Charter should be noted here. In December 2014, the Forum on Reliable and Stable Transit of Energy Resources was organized in Ashgabat in cooperation with this specialized institution and in accordance with the resolutions adopted at the 67th session of the UN General Assembly and its first international meeting of experts on the matter was held. In the course of this interaction, specialized expert meetings were also held in Brussels and Beijing in 2015 and in Tirana in 2016.

At a meeting of the Energy Charter Conference, held in Tokyo on November 25-26 2016, Turkmenistan was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the Conference for 2017.A corresponding committee was established to ensure a high organizational level for the presidency of Turkmenistan and for the international events scheduled for this period. According to the results of the first meeting held on January 21 of this year, a number of proposals have been submitted to the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for his review.

As a first priority, a draft concept of Turkmenistan's presidency of the Energy Charter Conference in 2017 was developed. The document gives special attention to such priority areas for international cooperation as: provision of multi-variant energy flows and expansion of their geographic locations, essential for global energy security and stability of the entire system of world economic relations; energy efficiency, introduction of innovative technologies and modern management methods; environmental aspects and use of renewable energy sources; reliability and safety of international energy flows, the implementation of the international transit of energy on an equal and equitable basis and based on the principles of economic and commercial viability; investment in the energy sector and improvement of efficiency and security of these investments.

The key topics and issues, relevant conclusions and recommendations regarding international cooperation on sustainable energy will be summarized and presented in the final document of the 28th session of the Energy Charter Conference.

Along with this, a program of international events related to the presidency of Turkmenistan at the Energy Charter Conference in 2017 is scheduled in Turkmenistan and abroad and will be held in Ashgabat, Brussels, New York, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tehran. At the same time, 10 internal organizational meetings of the Energy Charter Secretariat will be held in the Belgian capital.

In addition, a draft action plan on 8 areas was prepared, in accordance with which media forums, conferences, special training seminars and meetings with representatives of the media will be conducted in Turkmenistan and other countries.

According to President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, wide, engaging and equal cooperation in the energy sector is one of the most important factors in a stable progressive development of global practices in the 21st century. Having enormous energy potential and trying to implement it for the benefit of all, Turkmenistan conducts systematic work on the implementation of initiatives aimed at strengthening and intensifying mutually advantageous partnership that serves the interests of all mankind.

Neutral Turkmenistan will continue to take an active part in reaching constructive decisions of strategic importance in the context of global peace, prosperity and sustainable development. Election of Turkmenistan as the Chairman of the Energy Charter Conference is yet another evidence of its increasing prestige on the world stage. In putting forward tangible proposals to stimulate and optimize the multilateral cooperation in the energy sector, Turkmenistan makes a significant contribution to the development of new effective interaction models, based on a balance of interests of all parties involved, and designed for the long term.