On 8 November 2024, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov received Ms. Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, UN Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The guest expressed gratitude for meeting and presented to the President of Turkmenistan a Certificate of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for Turkmenistan's achievements on ending statelessness in the country.

Ms. Menikdiwela took the opportunity to convey to the President of Turkmenistan warm greetings from UN Secretary-General António Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. It was noted that the UN attaches great importance to cooperation with Turkmenistan, which promotes initiatives to strengthen global peace and trust.

President Serdar Berdimuhamedov expressed gratitude for kind words and addressed his best wishes to the UN leadership.

The Head of state expressed confidence that the awarding of the relevant certificate to Turkmenistan and holding of the Central Asian Ministerial Conference on Statelessness in Ashgabat will be an important step in expanding ties between Turkmenistan and the UNHCR.

It was noted at the meeting that Turkmenistan maintains active relations with respected international organizations, primarily the United Nations and its specialized agencies. The consistent collaboration with UNHCR is evidenced by a number of jointly implemented projects.

The President of Turkmenistan noted that Turkmenistan pays special attention to ending statelessness and improving the legal framework in this area.

It was noted that specific measures are being implemented within the framework of the National Action Plan for 2019-2024 to eliminate statelessness in Turkmenistan.

“Based on the principles of humanism of our ancestors, stateless persons are accepted as citizens of Turkmenistan and are granted permission to reside in the country,” said President Serdar Berdimuhamedov.

The Head of state emphasized that Turkmenistan highly values the activities of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in protecting the rights of stateless persons and refugees, highlighting with satisfaction that Turkmenistan is the first country in the region of Central Asian to join the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme.

At the end of the meeting, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov reaffirmed Turkmenistan’s commitment to international obligations to protect the rights of stateless persons and wished the UN Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Ms. Ruvendrini Menikdiwela good health and success in her work.