The United Nations Office at Geneva published the remarks of its Director-General, Tatiana Valovaya, at the War, Peace and Neutrality Forum on 10 October 2025, the day she delivered them in Room XVI of the Palais des Nations.
She began by thanking the Permanent Mission of Turkmenistan, the Geneva Center for Neutrality and the Greater Caspian Association "for bringing us together to reflect on these timeless and timely themes". With these words, the UN named GCA as one of the three institutions that brought the forum together.
Ms Valovaya described neutrality as a practical tool in the daily work of the United Nations, one that creates the space for preventive diplomacy, mediation, good offices and peacebuilding. She recalled General Assembly resolution 71/275, adopted in February 2017 at the initiative of Turkmenistan, which proclaimed 12 December the International Day of Neutrality. She named Turkmenistan's permanent neutrality, recognised by the General Assembly in December 1995, as a notable example, and mentioned Switzerland, the host country of the UN in Geneva, among the states with national policies of neutrality.
The first guest she addressed was Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia. She ended by wishing the participants a productive and inspiring day of discussion.
Read the full remarks on the UN Geneva website.