Intervention of the Minister of Foreign Affairs during General Debate at the 17th Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement

INTERVENTION
of Mr. Sirodjidin Aslov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan,
during General Debate at the 17th Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement

Dear Mr. Chairman,
Your Excellences,
Ladies and Gentleman,

It’s a great honor to be here today and participate at the 17th Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement.

I would like to thank His Excellency Mr. Ramtane Lamamra, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Government and the people of Algeria for the warm welcome and the excellent working conditions created for us to successfully conduct our meeting.

I believe that our today’s event will allow us to share our views for enhancing the efficiency of our common steps for successful implementation of principles, ideals and goals of the Non-Aligned Movement;

We have gathered together at the time when contemporary world and human beings are in one of their complex and contradictory periods of their history- active and speedy globalization. Globalization  which from one side has brought development of science, new technology, production, consumption, freedom of speech and was a reason for uniting people of the planet and development of the countries from other side it has become a cause of instability, violence, poverty, use of force against one another, spread of illiteracy, demolishing of the cities and national values.

In addition, in the recent years the sphere of conflict of the world powers has become so apparent that positioning and grouping between the countries both at the regional and global levels, reminds us Cold War era. We can clearly see the examples of this confrontation in several regions of the World nowadays.

In our opinion, in such circumstances we think a common task for all of us is to create a world system that eliminates the existing threats and prevents the emergence of new challenges in order to ensure stability at all levels. Today, we have real possibilities for building a just and democratic international order in which each state will bear its share of responsibility for the future of humanity, and the world community will ensure respect for international law and protection of the legitimate interests of each of its members. Hence, we are interested to continue to expand cooperation in the name of peace and stability throughout the world.

Therefore, alongside with all members of the Non-Aligned Movement, Tajikistan as an observer country, attaches great importance on further strengthening of the disarmament process and non-proliferation regimes, as well as enhancing the negotiations process for conclusion of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and creation of nuclear-weapons-free zones. We are confident that the establishment of such zones is an important component in nuclear disarmament, prevention of nuclear proliferation, promoting peace and security at the regional and global levels. In this context, we believe that the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty is corresponds to the efforts of countries in the region to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promotes regional security and cooperation between the states.

Dear colleagues,

Tajikistan is very keen to engage in international and regional collaborations to maximize their efforts for a speedy and full settlement of the long-term conflict in the Middle East. That’s why we support the state of Palestine in its efforts to take its well-deserved place in the community of nations as its full-fledged member.

With the beginning of withdrawal of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from Afghanistan the country will enter into new phase. The withdrawal will pose a significant security challenge both for the region and the world. In this regard, we believe that the key to lasting peace in Afghanistan is the socio-economic development of the country. In assisting Afghanistan it is necessary to aim our efforts primarily at comprehensive economic revival, further strengthening of the social sphere and the creation of new jobs. Moreover, it is important to keep attention of the international community and friends of Afghanistan to the needs and problems of the country and countries of the region should also play their part in this endeavor. Today Afghanistan is at a critical stage of the transition process and democratic elections are vitally important for further strengthening of peace and unity of the Afghan people. We welcome the peaceful conduction of the first round of the presidential elections in Afghanistan in April 2014 and hope that the second round of the elections will also be held in a democratic and peaceful manner.

We are convinced that the United Nations as the unique and universal mechanism for multilateral cooperation must remain a center for coordination of collective efforts at ensuring peace, security, development and human rights. Meanwhile, the consolidating role of the UN itself must be strengthened through comprehensive reform and strengthening of its ability to rapidly and adequately respond to the problems, efficiently counteract numerous global challenges and threats.

Tajikistan considers the UN peacekeeping operations as an effective tool for resolving armed conflicts and assisting in rehabilitation processes in post-conflict areas. In this regard, Tajikistan consistently increases its participation in in the the African Union - UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

Today very little time is left before the deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. In this regard, it is vitally important to consider specific and additional measures for the acceleration and enhancement of efforts for timely and full implementation of the MDGs.

Being fully aware of the responsibility for addressing the socio-economic issues, Tajikistan  consistently enhances its efforts at making ultimate use of its capacity for the achievement of the MDGs. Alongside with the undertaken measures aimed at creation of a favorable investment environment, implementation of balanced budget policy, diversification of  its economy and jobs creation, the Government intends to strengthen the sustainable economic growth of the country through development of power engineering and diversification of industry, completing the projects on improvement of access to regions and transit roads, ensuring food and energy security, development of agricultural infrastructure, particularly, melioration and water resources management.

Tajikistan with its “Open Door Policy” as the basis of its foreign policy strategy has friendly relations with all members of international mechanism and attaches particular attention to the activities of the Movement for the joint commitment of members in ensuring sustainable development. Our country welcomes cooperation and dialogue between the NAM and other organizations, in particular with the Group of 77 and China especially in promotion of South-South cooperation for the benefit to the countries of the South.

At the end, I would like to reiterate that we stay firm in our commitment to further actively participate in the Non-Aligned Movement as an observer. We trust that in the framework of NAM there is proper atmosphere, free of compulsory demands, for free exchange of views, tackling global threats and provision of responsible coexistence. We are ready through bilateral and multilateral cooperation with NAM member-states to do our best in achieving abovementioned goals.

I thank you for your attention!