AKIPRESS.COM - Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov met September 29 with the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Miroslav Jenca and the special representative, the new head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) Natalia German.

The UN representatives arrived in Ashgabat for festive events dedicated to the closing of the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.

Congratulating Ms. Herman on her appointment to a responsible post, the Turkmen side wished success in her further activities to implement initiatives to strengthen peace, security and stability in Central Asia, the Turkmen foreign ministry said.

Expressing gratitude for the active position on development of cooperation with the UN, the sides noted the positive experience, which is a solid foundation for the development of joint activities.

The sides exchanged views on further cooperation in the field of security, development and the humanitarian dimension. UN representatives expressed gratitude for the opportunity to the team of refugees to participate in the Ashgabat 2017 Games.

In this context, noting the role of the Declaration on Encouragement the Valuable Contribution of the Olympic Teams of Refugees to Consolidation of Peace and Human Rights, adopted at the 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the Turkmen side stressed the importance of the refugee team's participation in sporting events designed to attract international attention community to the scale of the current refugee crisis and raise awareness of the need to address this problem.