Press release

ASHGABAD, 28 November 2008 - Effective stockpile management and securing small arms and light weapons (SALW) and conventional ammunition (CA) were the focus of an OSCE-organized workshop that ended in Ashgabad today.

Organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabad in co-operation with the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre and Turkmenistan's Foreign Ministry, the two-day event brought together 26 mid- and high-ranking officials from the Foreign, Defence, Interior and National Security Ministries and the State Border Service.

The workshop aimed to assist Turkmenistan in implementing its commitments stemming from the OSCE Document on SALW and the OSCE Document on Stockpiles of Conventional Ammunition.

"The OSCE is pleased to engage in dialogue with Turkmenistan on the vital issues of surplus arms and ammunition. We have developed best practice guides, and are ready to share expertise and knowledge with the Turkmenistan authorities," said Ambassador Ibrahim Djikic, the Head of the OSCE Office in Ashgabad.

The workshop addressed modern techniques for the safe and secure storage of SALW and CA, as well as tools for identifying surpluses of SALW and ammunition. It provided a forum for exchanging information among various government agencies and with experts from other participating States.

"I was encouraged by the level of interest shown by the Turkmenistan representatives and their understanding of the complexity and seriousness of the threat from surplus arms and ammunition," said Steve Brown, the Head of the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency project office in Ukraine and one of the international experts at the workshop.

The event was organized as part of the Centre's programme to promote confidence and security-building in Central Asia.