TURKMENISTAN

Her Excellency Aksoltan T. Ataeva, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the United Nations

I would like to take this opportunity to convey to you the warm greetings of the President of Turkmenistan and would like to wish you every success in this meeting. Allow me to express appreciation to Italy for the hospitality and to thank Mr. Diouf for organizing this Summit in such an excellent manner.

Turkmenistan is one of the independent states which a few days ago celebrated the fifth year of its independence. From the first day of its existence it chose secular democratic development and its political direction was based on permanent neutrality. A year ago, the international community supported us, and in December 1995, the General Assembly of the United Nations took a resolution with regard to the permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan. We are grateful for this support and consider it to be a contribution to our progress.

The agricultural sector is important in our country and it provides work for over 50 percent of the population and plays a determining role in our country's independence. The area of our country is 488 000 kms² and agricultural land only accounts for about 15 percent. For many years, the country was a monocrop country which produced cotton.

The president of the country has started a new agrarian policy based on the principle of producing vital goods which are a necessity for the population. He has developed a programme for grains which is designed to meet the needs of the population for these products, and will come into force and as a result of which there will be increases in the production of rice and other goods. Also, there will be development in the processing industries. Very important is the question of food for women and children, in particular. Since land is very valuable, agricultural reform has been undertaken and a register of land was carried out to allow for the private ownership of land. A new system of cooperatives has been set up which will make it possible to use the land effectively, and so that people who work the land are really interested in working it.

We will develop the productive sector and Turkmenistan is a country, like many others, which have recently become independent, and are facing difficulties during this transitional period. The country, today, needs the further development of its irrigation system, and production of agricultural technology. We need to fully develop mechanization of production. This will be reflected not only in the mode of production but also in the health of the population. We have seen a drop in the number of sheep and goats. With regard to cattle, there have been some developments but milk production does not match the needs of the population, in particular children.

We are facing difficulties in the transitional period and we need an investment in technology advances and in most arable crops which can be processed to world standards. We need a scientific foundation for producing new types of cotton and wheat. The Government programme lays down a system for developing the agricultural sector in the country and to make use of its potential. However, the resources which we have could be used more effectively if there were more investments with technical help from international organizations.

We are the fourth largest country in the world in terms of gas deposits and we have major oil deposits but we need to develop these sectors further. Unfortunately, exports of these raw materials do not yet have the desired effect upon the economy because importing countries suffer the same kind of difficulties as we do. Help from the world community would help us to develop our potential and to develop all sectors of the economy, particularly, the agricultural sector and it would make it possible to overcome these production problems.

We would like to call your attention to the following problems. We import 1.5 million tons of wheat per year. This costs us US$ 300 million per year. We need know-how, technology, fertilizers, equipment, so that we can use our land, and irrigation systems. It would be important to have foreign resources and exchange and we know that FAO can help us in developing these important programmes.

My country, in the early stages as an independent country, is following a peaceful course and we are able to avoid conflicts and we understand that peace is a prior condition for development. We need a solid base for the development of vulnerable populations and children in particular, to resolve our production problems.

The government of our country supports the Plan of Action and the World Food Summit and we will participate actively in helping to achieve its goals and we seek peace and prosperity so that our people have a good basis for development. We need to help one another and to understand one another for the sake of our common future.