A symposium was held at the Doctorate Hall in Rectorate Building located in Istanbul University Beyazıt Main Campus on the occasion of the Neutrality Day of Turkmenistan. Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Ankara H.E. Ishankuli Amanlyev, Rector of the University Prof. Dr. Mahmut Ak and President of the Marmara Group Foundation Dr. Akkan Suver attended the event which was organized by Consul General of Turkmenistan Hon. Myratgeldi Seyitmammedov.

The speech text of Dr. Akkan Suver is as follows:

Turkmenistan, has also a reputation for its neutrality policy, has achieved benefits of the works that it put forth in this field and enabled the world to celebrate December 12 as the "International Neutrality Day".

This decree recognized by the United Nations on 12^th February 2017 also means that this philosophy proposed by Turkmenistan crossed the legal borders of the country and gained a widely-acclaimed popularity in the international area.

When Turkmenistan gained its independence years ago, also declared its neutrality policy and made a critical political choice.

First of all, Turkmenistan informed OSCE (The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) about its decree and then it formally gained its "status of permanent neutrality".

Therefore, this declaration, providing a legal basis, is the first and only one in the world. Again, this declaration has facilitated to build more stronger relations with the neighbouring states in the basis of the principals of "permanent neutrality".

It is a remarkable success. This occasion is an universal victory in terms of the support gained by the consensus of all the members of the United Nations.

Turkmenistan has maintained its neutrality policy during the time passed and last year it enabled the December 12 to become an international day by offering its motivation of neutrality to the United Nations.

This is a respectable achievement, too. By means of its geography, Turkmenistan is situated in a complicated area fighting against various terrorist groups.

The main stone of Turkmenistan's foreign policy is the "status of permanent neutrality" as it is understood by the policy it has followed until today. Achieved in December 12, 1995, this statue has gained an independent feature and Turkmenistan, always aims at developing ways to provide peace and security both in the country and outside, its late Turkmenbashi always had a cool attitude against both the Russian Federation and other Republics in the Middle Asia, gained a respectful position in this region through its neutrality policy.

Apart from its geopolitics position, Turkmenistan attracts attention of the West by means of its natural resources. This is also an important feature.

As follows below, we can count the benefits that Turkmenistan gained thanks to its neutrality policy:

First of all, we can classify "security and stability" as two major features. In this regard, armament is a critical instrument.

Turkmenistan is also trying to use its internal recourses toward the developing of the country.

Turkmenistan became a preferred country by means of foreign investment.

It has gained a right to request economical and technical support from the member states of the UN.

It has provided a psychological contribution in terms of self-reliance to the country and its people.

In addition, this statue enabled Turkmenistan to gain a remarkable fame in the region.

To sum up, Turkmenistan became the safest and most stable country among the republics in the Middle Asia by following a successful neutrality policy led by President Gurbanguli Muhammedov both in the international and regional relations from past to present.

On the other hand, the fact is that "status of permanent neutrality" provided opportunities to Turkmenistan to gain benefits in the field of its foreign relations both in regional and global context. This is a vital power for the foreign affairs.

In spite of everything, this policy that Turkmenistan has been following after the collapse of the SSCB seems to be a right choice when we think of the term following the years of the Cold War where various battles of power took place beside their ideological worries. Therefore, Turkmenistan has been successfully conducting the strategy of "neutrality policy" both at the international and regional level since the end of the Cold War.

The philosophy of neutrality has crossed the border of Turkmenistan and President Gurbanguli Muhammedov has a great level of contribution in this regard. This philosophy was recognized by the world thanks to him. Therefore, the implementation of the neutrality policy by Turkmenistan's foreign affairs is a important example for the maintaining of peace and stability in the world.