Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, April 2 / Trend H. Hasanov /
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the fact that Turkmenistan once again intensified its involvement in regional and global issues under the leadership of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov, he said in Ashgabat.
UN Secretary General office's press-release said that we talked about the active support (initiatives) of Turkmenistan on a stable and secure transit of energy resources.
Moreover, the General Secretary mentioned the Central Asia as a zone free of nuclear weapons, as well as the upcoming conference in Ashgabat on Disarmament in Central Asia and the Caspian Sea basin.
"I am grateful for the humanitarian assistance provided by Turkmenistan to Afghanistan", he said. He said that the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy, located in Ashgabat, is an important forum for regional cooperation on a number of problems in Central Asia. They are water and energy issues, issues of social and economic development, drug trafficking and terrorism.
Ban Ki-moon also welcomed the ongoing reforms in Turkmenistan in education, social services and health care.
"The UN is ready to cooperate with the Turkmen government on human rights issues. I called on the government to fulfill all the obligations arising from international law on human rights and many international treaties in which Turkmenistan participates," he said.
Ban Ki-moon noted that he is encouraged by the fact that the recommendations, given by other UN member-states during the consideration of the universal periodic review in December 2008, are openly discussed.
"I called upon the Turkmen government to fully implement the recommendations, including provisions relating to the prison system and the Convention against Torture", he stressed.
He said that he also called on President Berdimuhammedov to take efforts to increase civil society's role in development of Turkmenistan.