Dr. Begench Karaev
The National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan, Hero-Arkadag, emphasized in his speech at the International Conference “International Year of Peace and Trust: The Role of Interregional Cooperation in Ensuring Sustainable Development” (Ashgabat, 19 March, 2025): “Turkmenistan directly links the idea of peace and trust with economic development. In this context, the current year – the ‘International Year of Peace and Trust’ – should give a powerful impetus to economic cooperation. I am confident that peace, trust, equality, and mutual benefit must form the basis of economic partnership. Any large economic, infrastructure, trade, and investment projects can only be successful if there is equality and mutual trust.”
The synergistic context of this thesis lies in the fact that the ideals of peace and prosperity for humanity, being inextricably linked to the global development of trade and economics, will only take real shape through trusting, just, and equitable relations between states.
In this context, another thesis by the National Leader of the Turkmen people, expressed in his speech at the Third Antalya Diplomatic Forum (Antalya, 1 March, 2024), draws attention. Here, moral categories essential for the modern system of international relations are brought into focus. Specifically, Hero-Arkadag stressed that: “The current conjuncture in the system of international relations poses a number of serious questions that essentially affect not only politics, economics, and law, but also ethical, judicial relations, and relations of honor and dignity. I believe that today these definitions cannot be viewed in isolation; they are unified. Therefore, to maintain political security, sustainable and economic development, it is necessary to involve the peoples and states of the planet as much as possible, regardless of their historical role, population size, GDP volume, military potential, or level of technological development. Their legitimate rights should be affirmed to become members and subjects of the modern and future world order.”
It is no coincidence that concepts such as ethics, honor, and dignity, traditionally discussed by philosophers, are now being considered within major political and diplomatic forums. This thesis can form the basis for contemporary dialogue, where the mobilization of human potential as a whole is necessary to solve universal problems. Amartya Sen, the renowned Indian economist and philosopher who significantly contributed to the concept of human capabilities, argued that societal development should not be measured solely by economic growth but should aim at expanding people’s opportunities. In his view, freedom of choice and the ability to lead a dignified life are key aspects of human development.
The multi-dimensional and interconnected nature of modern international relations is evidenced by the preparations for the upcoming Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, scheduled from August 4 to 8 this year.
The National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, emphasized at a meeting of the Organizational State Committee for the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries that “issues concerning the aforementioned Conference are comprehensively discussed within the framework of the Organizational State Committee for the high-level organization of events on the occasion of declaring 2025 as the ‘International Year of Peace and Trust’ and the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s neutrality.”
A noteworthy fact is that almost all heads of state from this category, along with the UN Secretary-General and his deputies, will participate in this high-level forum. The agenda covers a wide range of pressing issues and numerous political-diplomatic, trade-economic, and cultural-humanitarian events. These will continue for five days.
According to UN data, nearly half a billion people live in Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) across Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America. These countries depend on transit routes through neighboring nations to access global markets and face significantly higher trade costs, often double those of coastal countries. One pressing issue is that their economies are extremely vulnerable to external geopolitical changes. To address these challenges, the UN adopted the “Vienna Programme of Action” in 2014 – a ten-year plan to promote sustainable development in LLDCs. These partnerships serve the interests of people and institutions, aiming to improve countries’ connectivity, leverage technology and innovation to transform economies, integrate more effectively into global trading systems, and invest in sustainable infrastructure and preparing people for tomorrow’s challenges.
As Narine Sahakyan, UNDP Resident Representative in Turkmenistan, emphasizes, each of these countries can offer constructive opportunities to solve common problems. In particular, Turkmenistan positions itself as a logistics and transport hub connecting Europe and Asia. It participates in regional initiatives, and its status of permanent neutrality allows it to build regional partnerships and play a strategic role as a link between Europe and Asia, emphasizing reliable transport corridors that strengthen regional stability and contribute to broader sustainable development goals.
Undoubtedly, the strategic paradigm for the common challenges faced by landlocked countries is the lack of territorial access to the sea, difficulty in direct access to vital segments of the world market, and consequently, high transit and trade costs. According to some data, on average, transport costs associated with delivering goods to foreign markets and back are more than twice as high as those for neighboring coastal countries.
In the modern era, where the system of international relations experiences very high turbulence, primarily due to geopolitical contradictions, achieving global development goals increasingly depends on solving pressing regional problems. At the same time, regional, and sometimes even more local, issues that seemingly have a local specificity, under certain conditions of interest coherence, can escalate to a global factor.
The interconversion of problem levels across the entire system of international relations necessitates their analysis not only through political, cultural, or economic categories. Despite the seeming isolation of these spheres, the increasing relevance of a common paradigm for their assessment, which lies in categories of universal human dimension, is becoming clear.
The National Leader of the Turkmen people, in his book “Music of Peace, Music of Friendship and Brotherhood,” particularly notes that humanity has experienced many difficulties on its historical path of development. Overcoming them, people not only restored their lives but strived to live even better than before. By assimilating the moral lessons of the past, people found new strength and wisdom to comprehend the future. But the main point was that to move forward, it is first necessary to find mutual understanding, a joint search for common approaches, and a desire to collectively find mutually acceptable solutions.
Undoubtedly, the upcoming high-level international forum – the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries – will be another opportunity for a joint search for constructive approaches to solving pressing issues for fruitful partnership in the name of peace, security, and sustainable development. /// nCa, 1 August, 2025
Dr. Begench Karaev deals with the problems of philosophy of law and politics. He is the author of a number of textbooks and monographs, including “Political Analysis and Strategic Planning”, “Political Analysis: Problems of Theory and Methodology: (Experience of Studying Modern Central Asian Society)” and “Traditional and Modern in the Political Life of Central Asian Society (Experience of Political Analysis)”.