The delegation of Turkmenistan participated in the high-level conference "Preventing violent extremism in Central Asia: regional progress and the way forward", which was organized online by the UNDP Regional Center in Istanbul.

The Turkmen delegation was represented at the forum by Deputy Foreign Minister Vepa Hadjiev. 

During the meeting, participants focused on the results of ongoing efforts to prevent violent extremism in the region and noted the need to develop cooperation and partnership to find more effective regional strategies.

Speaking at the forum, V. Hadjiev emphasized the importance of neutrality, which can serve as a basis for countering certain segments of violent extremism. In this regard, the importance of the group of friends of neutrality for peace, security and development, founded by Turkmenistan on the UN platform with the support of the Organization's member countries, was emphasized. They also expressed the country's position on continuing to work during the upcoming session of the UN General Assembly to develop a set of UN rules for the effective application of the principles of neutrality in the settlement of international issues. 

In addition, the relevance of the adopted resolution of the UN General Assembly on declaring 2021 the Year of international peace and trust was noted, and in order to fully implement this document, Turkmenistan intends to hold an international forum of peace and trust next year.

The head of the Turkmen delegation noted that the country pays close attention to the implementation of the UN Global counter-terrorism strategy at the regional level, based on the provisions of the 2011 Ashgabat Declaration and the Joint action plan on countering terrorism in Central Asia, which in 2021 is entering the next, fourth phase of its implementation.

In this aspect, the importance of the joint work of the Regional center for preventive diplomacy for Central Asia and the UN counter-terrorism office in developing an action Plan for the implementation of the national strategy of Turkmenistan for preventing violent extremism and countering terrorism for 2021-2024, which will be adopted in December this year, was noted.

The head of the Turkmen delegation also noted that an important aspect in countering terrorism and violent extremism is working with young people, where their share in the demographic balance in Central Asia is traditionally high. In this context, the importance of the work carried out by UNDP in the framework of the project "Strengthening the sustainability of society and cross-border cooperation to prevent violent extremism in Central Asia" was highlighted. 

They also expressed gratitude to the UNDP for developing the country component for Turkmenistan of the global project "STRIVE Asia". This platform is aimed at strengthening the resilience of local communities and supporting state and public organizations in achieving goals related to the prevention of violent extremism (PNE) among vulnerable youth.

The UNDP project on strengthening community resilience and cooperation for PE in Central Asia is funded by the government of Japan and is a regional initiative aimed at the youth component.