Inauguration of the Turkmen Room

Ambassador Haljanov
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen:

What a beautiful room! On behalf of the United Nations, I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to the President, Government and people of Turkmenistan for this really generous gift to our Organization. As a central part of the Palais des Nations, this room will facilitate the multilateral discussions and negotiations that are key to finding lasting responses to the challenges of today.

Also a warm thank you to all the colleagues who were involved in the refurbishment. It is due to their collective hard work, their creativity and the excellent collaboration between the Permanent Mission of Turkmenistan and my colleagues at UNOG that we can admire this beautiful room today. It brings together craftsmanship and artistic flair at high level.

The room is an important contribution to our ongoing efforts to modernize and preserve the Palais des Nations to serve the international community and the multilateral process of the future. It demonstrates a firm commitment to the Strategic Heritage Plan and I hope it will inspire other countries to follow suit. Each of the rooms that have been renovated and refurbished here represents a tremendously helpful complement to the overall Plan.

As we just heard from the Ambassador, this room combines the rich culture of Turkmenistan, captured in the exquisite carpets and curtains, and state-of-the-art technology that will support delegates in their daily work. It shows how our individual traditions form the foundation of our collective work to promote peace, rights and well-being for all. Drawing on our different experiences and histories, we weave a dense network of norms and standards that is more than the sum of its parts. The common thread in our efforts is the commitment to shaping a better tomorrow for people across the world, in all regions and of all backgrounds.

I have no doubt that the diplomats and many stakeholders who will use this room will be inspired by the atmosphere and symbolism to find innovative solutions to the challenges before us. As this room is used, first and foremost, by the members of the Conference on Disarmament, I very much hope that they will be the first to be inspired to overcome their differences and move forward on their critical mandate.
Again, a warm thank you to Turkmenistan - for this unique and useful donation and for the commitment to our shared mission that it embodies.

Thank you very much, Ambassador.