The National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov took part in the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization held in Astana, Kazakhstan. Our heroic friend's speech there included a number of important issues:

Dear Kasym-Jomart Kemelevich!

Dear Heads of State and Delegation!

First of all, let me thank the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kasym-Jomart Kemelevich Tokayev, for the invitation, the hospitality and the high-level organization of the meeting!

Turkmenistan has been participating in high-level meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization several times as an honored guest. This has become a noble tradition, and we consider such a rank as a sign of respect for Turkmenistan, a high level of trust in our country and an indication of openness, striving to develop close cooperation with the organization. Such an approach is fully compatible with Turkmenistan's tendencies. Our country considers SHG as an important and promising partner. Cooperation with this organization corresponds to our national interests, it is able to positively influence the course and direction of regional affairs, and contribute to the stabilization of the international situation.

Our country has deep historical ties, geographical proximity, common values, and world outlook with the peoples and states that are part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and work with it. Today, mutual benefits in economy, trade, investment, and technology are added to it. Of course, Turkmenistan fully shares the fundamental principles of peace, mutual respect, equality, cooperation, which form the basis of the work of the SCO. Our country is ready to work with this organization on their practical implementation.

Turkmenistan has been promoting the initiative of dialogue as a guarantee of peace in the international space for many years now. This idea fits perfectly with the theme of our summit. We see this as a good opportunity to start effective joint work at the UN and other prestigious multilateral bodies.

As it is known, on the basis of the initiative of Turkmenistan, 2025 was declared by the United Nations as the "Year of International Peace and Trust". This was confirmed in the relevant Resolution of the General Assembly. This forms the political and legal basis for the full participation of our countries in the process of consultations and negotiations at the UN in order to develop common approaches and compatible views on the peace and peace-building agenda. In this regard, Turkmenistan would like to discuss the possibility of supporting our initiative to create a comprehensive security strategy with the SCO. This initiative was put forward by the President of Turkmenistan at the plenary session of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly last September. If this proposal generates a positive response, the foreign policy institutions of our countries could have been given instructions to develop an appropriate plan of political consultations. We hope you will support this proposal.

Commenting on the foreign policy part of my speech, I would like to emphasize that the main goals of neutral Turkmenistan are only related to peaceful, stable and transparent development. We consider the formula of dialogue, based on the principle of mutual respect as the basis of peace and security, as the main condition for the transition of cooperation in this direction, their continuous development and normalization of the situation.

Dear conference participants!

Turkmenistan is guided by the alignment of our economic interests in its assessment of cooperation with the SHG. Today it is already clear that the future of cooperation and its long-term nature. The Eurasian space has inexhaustible resources and demographic potential, which shows rapid economic growth and remarkable scientific and technological achievements. Together, these circumstances open up positive opportunities for effective cooperation between Turkmenistan and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in strategic areas - transport, communication, energy, and many other areas.

I believe that we have all the conditions to establish stable, basic lines of cooperation in East-West and North-South directions. Geographically, Turkmenistan is a natural and convenient ring for this big project. Within its framework, we are ready to work with the SCC countries in various formats and structures. As for the transshipment network, we would like to highlight the route from China to Europe and the Middle East through Central Asia. To be precise, we are talking about the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Turkey crossing, which is the exit to Europe. From a logistical point of view, this is a very convenient route. Its effective