High-level International Conference on Regional Cooperation in the Republic of Uzbekistan
On March 3-4, 2022, a high-level international conference on the topic “Regional cooperation of Central Asian countries within the framework of the Joint Plan of Action for the Implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy” was held in the Conference Hall of the Tashkent City International Business Center of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The conference was co-organized by the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
At the opening ceremony, an address was delivered on behalf of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and a video message from the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Other speakers include OSCE Secretary General, UN Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Central Asia and Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, Shanghai Cooperation Organization Secretary General, and the heads of delegations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The Turkmen delegation was headed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan V.S. Hajiyev.
The 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Joint Plan of Action in the capital of Turkmenistan on November 30, 2011 provides an opportunity to learn about the unique experience of implementing the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia and to endorse a new edition of the Joint Plan of Action, prepared on the basis of a ten-year review, multi-stakeholder consultations and consensus.
Within the framework of the Conference, in the form of panel discussions, four breakout sessions were held on each of the four pillars of Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy: “Addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism” and “Preventing and countering terrorism”, “Building states’ capacity to prevent and combat terrorism and to strengthen the role of the United Nations system in that regard”, “Ensuring respect for human rights for all and the rule of law as the fundamental basis for the fight against terrorism”.
In the first breakout session J.Gurbangeldiyev, Rector of the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, made a comment on the speeches via videoconference.
Side events was also held within the framework of the Conference: “The role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure in strengthening cooperation between the states of Central Asia within the framework of the Joint Plan of Action”, “The implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, gender aspects in the work with woman and children returning from war zones” and “Financial support for programs to counter terrorism”.
The key document following the outcome of the international meeting was the Tashkent Declaration and the updated Joint Plan of Action, in which the countries of Central Asia defined specific tasks for and reaffirm their commitment to the joint fight against terrorism.
Rahmet SOLTANOV,
3rd year student of the Faculty of
International Relations of the
Institute of International Relations of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan
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