On Tuesday, the debates of the UN General Assembly on agenda item 61 "Zone of Peace, Trust and Cooperation in Central Asia" initiated by Turkmenistan took place.

The debates were held under the chairmanship of Turkmenistan as Vice-Chairman of the UN General Assembly.

As reported on the website of the Permanent Mission of Turkmenistan to the UN, the delegations speaking at the debate raised such issues as:

• Strengthening security and stability;
• Ensuring economic and social development;
• Environmental sustainability.

The Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the UN, Ambassador Aksoltan Atayeva thanked the UN member countries for supporting the resolution of the General Assembly initiated by Turkmenistan and adopted in 2022 on the proclamation of the Zone of Peace, Trust and Cooperation in Central Asia.

A. Atayeva paid special attention to the need for further development of this zone as a legal phenomenon by analogy with the internationally recognized and currently formed zones of peace in various regions of the planet, in particular in the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean.

It was emphasized that the formation of a zone of peace in Central Asia became possible thanks to the institutional and legal basis of multilateral cooperation laid down by the countries of the region, namely the creation of a mechanism for interaction between the countries of Central Asia at the highest state level - regular Consultative meetings of the Heads of State of the region, the signing in 2006 of the Treaty on the zone a nuclear-weapon-free Central Asia, the establishment in December 2007 of the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, the creation on its basis of the Dialogue of Women in Central Asia, the Academy of Preventive Diplomacy for Youth and other platforms to promote regional dialogue.

Emphasis was also placed on the key role of the countries of Central Asia as neighbors of Afghanistan in building up international efforts to stabilize the country.