I welcoming remarks

Welcome speech by the Special Representative of the UN
Secretary General for Central Asia, Head of the United
Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for
Central Asia (UNRCCA) Petko Draganov
Your Excellency Mr. Minister!
Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen!
Allow me to express my gratitude to the Uzbek side for
the invitation to the international conference whose topics are
relevant for the whole region.
In Central Asia, the trend is growing today for regional
integration and consolidation of good-neighborly relations with
emphasis on economic mutually complementary bonds and
cultural-civilizational closeness of the states of the region.
The efforts of the country’s new leadership on the
accelerated process of political modernization undoubtedly
deserve attention and support. Within the framework of the
Strategy of Actions for the Development of Uzbekistan for 2017-
2021, in the regional context what we are witnessing is the
intensification of high-level dialogue on complex and sensitive
issues in Central Asia, including water and energy issues,
delimitation and delineation of borders, improving procedures for
the movement of people to neighboring countries, the
development 
of 
trade, 
economic 
and 
transport 
and
communication spheres.
The UN Regional Center within its mandate closely
interacts with Uzbekistan in addressing these regional issues.
After all, Uzbekistan’s foreign policy initiatives demonstrating
adherence to the principles of good-neighborliness and the
settlement of disagreements by peaceful means are largely in tune
with the tasks of the UN Regional Center for Preventive
Diplomacy.
Headquartered in Ashgabat, our Regional Center was
founded ten years ago, in 2007, on the initiative of five Central

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Asian governments to support countries in identifying and jointly
addressing existing and potential threats to regional peace and
security. These include, in particular, transnational threats such as
terrorism and organized crime, violent extremism, the problem of
joint use of trans-boundary water resources, socio-economic
challenges, inter-ethnic tensions, and the impact of the situation
in Afghanistan on regional stability and security.
This year we celebrate the decade of activity of the Center
in the field of preventive diplomacy. As our experience shows,
the political will of countries is one of the key prerequisites and
conditions for strengthening regional cooperation and achieving
meaningful results in solving problem situations, creating an
environment conducive for comprehensive and sustainable
development.
The recent visit by the UN Secretary General to the region
is undoubtedly a confirmation of the positive dynamics of
bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the region and the
consolidation of interaction among the five countries on a wide
range of issues, including in the field of preventive diplomacy
and sustainable development. As a practical result of this visit,
preparations are underway for the International Conference on
Security and Sustainable Development in Central Asia under the
auspices of the United Nations, entitled “Central Asia: One Past
and a Common Future, Cooperation for Sustainable Development
and Mutual Prosperity” due 10-11 November this year in
Samarkand. We hope that the forthcoming forum will help create
the necessary conditions for discussing effective mechanisms
against new challenges and threats to stability and sustainable
development of the region.
I would like to recall the high-level political dialogue
between the UN and Central Asia on the implementation of the
UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (2006) in Central Asia,
held on 13 June 2017 in Ashgabat under the chairmanship of the
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. The meeting ended with

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the unanimous adoption of the Ashgabat Declaration, which
stated the intention of the Central Asian nations to bolster
cooperation and coordination with the UN in combating terrorism
and preventing violent extremism. This declaration was
distributed in the official languages of the United Nations as a
document of the 71st session of the United Nations General
Assembly and the Security Council.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that the Regional
Center is determined to continue constructive interaction with the
governments of the Central Asian countries in order to further
support the processes aimed at boosting the spirit of good-
neighborliness in all spheres of life, maintaining peace and
increasing the well-being of the population.
Thank you for attention!

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