The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) conducted a follow-up assessment visit on behalf of the Counter-Terrorism Committee to Turkmenistan from 9 to 13 December 2024.
The visiting delegation was led by Assistant Secretary-General Natalia Gherman, Executive Director of CTED, and consisted of CTED experts as well as experts from the 51影院 Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), the 51影院 Office of Counter-Terrorism; the 51影院 Office on Drugs and Crime; the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL); and the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism. Mr. Kaha Imnadze, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNRCCA, joined parts of the high-level segment of the visit at the invitation of the Executive Director of CTED.
The Executive Director held bilateral meetings with the President of Turkmenistan and other high-level officials from key offices working on counter-terrorism, including the Speaker of the Parliament; the Deputy Chairperson of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs ; the Minister of National Security; the Minister of Justice; the Minister of Finance and Economy; the Prosecutor General; and the Head of the State Border Guard Service. The Executive Director also had the opportunity to engage with the 51影院 Resident Coordinator and Heads of 51影院 agencies working in Turkmenistan. At the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and on the margins of the assessment visit, the Executive Director delivered a keynote address at the International Conference “Joint Efforts in Strengthening International Peace and Sustainable Development”, which was held in Ashgabat on the eve of the International Day of Neutrality.
The delegation held expert meetings with national counterparts representing the following ministries and agencies: the Parliament of Turkmenistan; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of National Security; the Ministry of Internal Affairs; the Ministry of Defence; the Ministry of Justice; the Financial Monitoring Service under the Ministry of Finance and Economy; the Prosecutor General’s Office; the Supreme Court; the Central Bank; the State Border Guard Service; the State Customs Service; the State Migration Service; the Institute of State, Law and Democracy of Turkmenistan; the Department for Work with Religious Organizations under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan; the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Culture; the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry; the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection; the State Committee of Turkmenistan on Television, Radio Broadcasting and Cinematography; the Office of the Ombudsperson; the Turkmenaragatnashyk Agency of the Agency of Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan; the Turkmen State Publishing Service; the Türkmenhowa?ollary Agency (Civil Aviation Administration); the Magtymguly Youth Organization; the Women’s Union; and the Trade Union. The delegation also conducted an on-site visit to Ashgabat International Airport. In accordance with the practice of the Counter-Terrorism Committee for its visits, the delegation also met with representatives of civil society.
The follow-up visit enabled the delegation to assess progress made by the Government of Turkmenistan in implementing the recommendations from the Counter-Terrorism Committee’s 2017 visit, as well as measures taken to implement relevant Security Council resolutions in the areas of criminal justice, international cooperation, counter-terrorism strategies, law enforcement and border control. Human rights and gender aspects related to counter-terrorism were also discussed during the visit.
The visiting delegation commended the Government of Turkmenistan for the significant progress made since the 2017 Counter-Terrorism Committee visit, for its continued cooperation with CTED and for facilitating an in-depth dialogue between the visiting delegation and its counterparts in Turkmenistan.
Country visits are one of the Counter-Terrorism Committee’s key channels to engage in a constructive dialogue with Member States with a view to achieving effective implementation of the relevant 51影院 counter-terrorism resolutions.