The present year 2025 declared by the General Assembly of the United Nations as the «International year of peace and trust», marks the 30th anniversary of obtainment of the status of permanent neutrality by the Turkmen state confirms the most valuable humane principles of humanity – peace, mutual understanding and friendship. The given initiative is a logic continuation and embodiment of the new philosophy of interstate relations, which have been put forward by National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty of Turkmenistan Hero-Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. Today, the whole world knows and adopts this political- philosophic doctrine as «Dialogue - a guarantee of peace».

As known, the historical Resolution, which assigned to Turkmenistan the status of permanent neutrality, was adopted on December 12, 1995 at the 50th jubilee session of the General Assembly of the United Nations with unanimous support of the entire international community. Our country was proclaimed as the first neutral state in world contemporary history, recognised by the Community of the Nations. This event of huge historical importance marked itself a new stage in development of the modern Turkmen state. Repeated adoption of the given Resolution on June 3, 2015 fully testified to the importance of the foreign policy and diplomacy of our state in the world.

For a relatively short period of history, Turkmenistan located at the crossroad of Europe and Asia, in the heart of the Great Silk road, has obtained a great experience in area of co-ordinated interaction with leading organisations of the world and development of cardinally new constructive formats of international cooperation. Initiative cooperation of our country with the United Nations in such perspective sphere as transport and logistics is dictated by character of globalisation of world economy.

As a result of large scale reforms initiated by National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and successfully realised under the leadership of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, due work is carried out to modernise the transport-communication infrastructure of the country. All it strengthens positions of our state as large transport hub of international significance.

The agreement between governments of Iran, Oman, Qatar, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for creation of the international transport and transit corridor operating in directions of North-South and East-West (the Ashgabat Agreement), the Lapis Lazuli Route Transport and Transit Agreement, Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway testify to implementation of fundamental transformations to introduce the latest transport technologies into practice. Within the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA), reforms are carried out with a view of revival of the Great Silk road and modernisation of multimodal transportations.

The strengthening of relations with international organisations in the transport sphere is an important goal of today. In the given field, our country co-operates with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Air Transport Association (IATA), European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), International Road Transport Union (IRU), and Organisation for Cooperation between Railways (OSJD), International Maritime Organization (IМО) and others. 

Creation of the diverse but nevertheless important, secure international transport infrastructure - one of the integral factors of general sustainable development, the objective imperative of world development, that dictates necessity to bring discussion of the given issue to the level of the United Nations as a separate long-term activity of this largest international organisation.

In enhancement of legal basis of transport diplomacy and possibilities of transport branch of the state, improvement and realisation of legislation in this area an important role is given to the «Program of the President of Turkmenistan for development of transport diplomacy for 2022-2025». According to the given document including the basic areas of the national transport policy, it is planned achievement of a wide complex of strategic goals and adoption of corresponding measures. As primary goals, the Program also includes creation of incorporated multimodal transport-transit corridors by an effective utilisation of the corresponding potential of our sovereign fatherland.

Our independent country attaches a great significance to development and diversification of logistics. As a result of implementation of its transport-communication strategy, Turkmenistan regularly strengthens the positions as major transport-logistic centre of regional and international scale. Announcement of November 26 of every year in 2023 at the proposal of Turkmenistan at the 70th plenary meeting of the 77th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization and with unanimous support of member states of the United Nations as «World Sustainable Transport Day» clearly speaks of acknowledgement of wide recognition of initiatives of our country of global significance.

Besides it, proposals put forward by Turkmenistan throughout past several years find consecutive support of the General Assembly of the United Nations. 6 resolutions adopted by the General Assembly at the initiative of our country also testify to this fact. 

Turkmenistan takes due measures to support actively the further strengthening of interaction within the Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport (GFST). The given structure was created on the virtual platform on July 6, 2022 within the actions prepared and carried out by the Permanent Mission of Turkmenistan to the United Nations jointly with the Intergovernmental Commission of the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA), Intergovernmental Council of Road Workers and International Centre for Transport Diplomacy.

Goals of the activity of the Group are assistance of realisation of concrete recommendations of the GA of the United Nations in the field of sustainable transport, achievement of SDGs up to 2030 and Vienna Programme of Action (VPoA) for LLDCs, support of work of the United Nations within the Global Climate Change Program (UN FCCC) and the New program of development of cities (United Nations-Habitat) concerning "green" transport, advancement of innovative mechanisms of investments into development of transport infrastructure and others. 

At present, our country implements a number of important projects for expansion of capacities of seaports, development of shipbuilding, construction of highways, railway bridges, airports and increase in transport capacities. Regional and global initiatives of the National Leader of the Turkmen people have played an important role in creation of transport-transit and logistic systems in Central Asia and on the Caspian Sea.

The commissioning of a 177-meter railway bridge of the Serhetabat-Turgundi steel highway in September of the past year with participation of Hero-Arkadag on the Turkmen-Afghani border, the beginning of construction of the optic-fibre communication line Serhetabat-Herat, called «Arkadagyň ak ýoly», a warehouse complex in the dry port of the Turgundi railway station and the section of Turgundi-Sanabar of the first stage of the Turgundi-Herat railway confirm that the work carried out in the country to develop the given sphere, has a continuous character.

Along with it, the country creates necessary conditions for intensification of the international air communication, the quantity of air routes to different countries steadily grows. All it increases the contribution of the national airlines to the strengthening of economy of our fatherland.

The country also attaches a priority to construction of highways. So, construction of Ashgabat-Turkmenabat high-speed highway proceeds with accelerated paces. In April 2024 with participation of the head of the state, the Tejen-Mary section of the highway was put into operation.

Thus, Turkmenistan brings today a huge contribution to expansion of international relations in the transport-communication sphere, which is an important part of world economy.

Perfection of internal transport infrastructure, its active integration in the international transport-logistics system, acceleration of rates of transit cargo transportation are of great importance for economic progress. For this reason Turkmenistan from the high podium of the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization calls to focus attention on solution of the given issues not only at national and regional levels, but also at the global scale. At the initiative of Turkmenistan, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a number of the Resolutions aimed at development of qualitatively new format of cooperation in the sphere of transport. These major documents speak of success of transformations carried out by Turkmenistan in the transport sphere in the world.

In 2025, in the International year of peace and trust, Turkmenistan proposes to intensify the complex strategy of cooperation for promotion of sustainable development goals (SDGs). The main role in it is given to realisations of two strategic priorities: energy transformation and transport connectivity. It is marked in the Concept of activity and priorities of Turkmenistan within the International year of peace and trust.

In the given context, we should note that our country, promoting international participation in the transport and logistics sector, proposed to create the Global atlas of sustainable transport connectivity. This initiative of Ashgabat was sounded at the World Governmental Summit in Dubai, which was held on February 11-13 of the past year.

Specific proposals on optimisation of transport streams, creation of new transport-transit corridors were set forward repeatedly for consideration of several large international forums and summits.

Summing up the above-stated, one should point out that the vision of the region of Central Asia and Caspian basin as a large transport-transit hub of continental significance lies at the heart of the policy of international cooperation pursued by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov in this area.

Regularly acting as the initiator of important peace-making international proposals, including those for realisation of infrastructural projects in the transport-communication sphere, Turkmenistan brings a weighty contribution in formation of architecture of new geo-economic space of interaction that meets modern tendencies of global development.