Turkmenistan assist in evacuation from Iran amid rising tensions

Turkmenistan has provided transit support and basic humanitarian guarantees for foreign nationals fleeing Iran where the deadly conflict with Israel continued for a sixth consecutive day Wednesday, raising fears of a broader conflict in the Middle East.

In light of the current situation in the Middle East, the Central Asian country bordering Iran has taken immediate measures to provide its territory for the departure of foreign diplomats, their families, and other nationals currently located in Iran.

More than 120 citizens of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Romania, China and other countries have already entered Turkmenistan through border points from Iran.

All those who arrived were promptly provided with necessary support, including vehicles for further movement, hot meals, essential items and accommodation in the Sport Hotel in Ashgabat, capital of the country.

In addition, Turkmenistan immediately provided its airspace for unimpeded use by all foreign airlines that were forced to change their routes due to the current situation in the Middle East.

Zahid Munir Amir, a renowned scholar, poet, critic, researcher and media expert from Pakistan, expressed his appreciation for Turkmenistan's entertainment and attention.

"We arrived in an emergency situation in Turkmenistan and this is our first experience with Turkmenistan and Turkmenistani people and no doubt it's a marvelous experience and we have seen the grandeur, the beauty and the modification of this town and we can imagine the taste and leadership of your national leader and taste of your nation," he said.

In a major escalation of regional tensions, Israel launched large-scale airstrikes early on June 13, targeting Iran's nuclear facilities. Iran responded with retaliatory strikes later that day, while the two sides have continued to trade missile attacks in the days since.

Amid rising tensions in the Middle East, multiple countries have meanwhile issued urgent travel advisories, calling on their citizens to leave Iran immediately and avoid non-essential travel to the region.

Turkmenistan assist in evacuation from Iran amid rising tensions

Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has called for upholding the multilateral system in the wake of rapid global changes, as he prepares to attend the upcoming Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as Summer Davos, in Tianjin.

The 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions will take place from June 24 to 26.

Amid profound global change, Wong emphasized that his message at Tianjin will highlight the need for a rules-based multilateral order, stressing that without cooperative norms and established rules, countries globally stand to face greater challenges.

"Small countries like Singapore of course are very concerned, because we have limited bargaining power, and we risk being sidelined and squeezed by the bigger powers. But I think big countries will be impacted too, because if we end up in a world that is more fragmented, where there is deep suspicions and mistrust of one another, this will be a world with great uncertainty and volatility, and you will have slower growth and higher inflation in the global economy, which means all countries will suffer, and our people at the end of the day will be the ones facing the impact," he said.

Wong stressed the need to reform multilateralism and enhance it to better serve all countries, rather than abandoning it.

"So we have to do something about this. Of course, multilateralism today is not perfect. There are things that can be improved, but our response should not be to abandon the multilateral system. Our response should be to reform, change, improve and make the system work better for the benefit of all countries," he added.

Singaporean PM calls for upholding multilateral system amid global shifts