My beloved Turkmen people,

Dear compatriots,

The New Year – the holiday joyfully and cheerfully celebrated in each family has come. I would like to cordially wish a happy New Year to each of you, your friendly and prosperous families. May the New Year bring you all joy and happiness, good luck and success!

The year 2007 went down to history of independent neutral Turkmenistan as the year of the triumph of humanism, friendship and fraternity, unity and solidarity, the year of the reforms brought up to a higher level of international co-operation, ensuring and maintaining security and stability in the region and all over the world, enhancing the prestige of the Turkmen nation and many other remarkable plans and actions.

Dear compatriots,

To ensure the peaceful and prosperous life for the people Turkmenistan chose the way of new development and is resolutely advancing along it. The Turkmen state will always take care of the people so that they could use the results of their diligent labour, so that the people will benefit from the national wealth.

Therefore, at the historic XX Halk Maslakhaty we attached paramount importance to the issues of revival of rural areas, development of agro-industrial sector. The adopted decisions promote increasing the welfare of rural people. We apply the best practices and methods of economic management, the technique to receive rich crops.

Much was done to quarantee social security to the people. We employed the new approaches to paying the pensions and allowances. We created thousands of new jobs. In a word, we made a great step to achieve the ultimate goal – to increase the wellbeing in our country up to that in the highly developed countries.

We started the reforms in the national education system, and that is a priority goal for the government. We created such conditions that the certificates of the Turkmen educational secondary and higher educational establishments were recognized valid all over the world, our youth would have an opportunity to study at the prestigious institutions of education in foreign countries. A home without knowledge is like a fireplace without fire. Science, education, literature, art, culture are the priceless property of mankind. It is the power that unites people, makes them friends and brothers, fosters the best traits and awakens the best feelings. Thus, we attach paramount importance to their development.

Turkmenistan became known worldwide as the centre of the great ancient civilizations. There are many ancient monuments inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the nature of unique beauty in our country. The notable scholars, who profoundly contributed to development of world science, literature, culture, lived and worked in our land many years ago.

Therefore, we are to turn Turkmenistan into a country with high-developed tourism industry. We pursued this aim when starting to create the Avaza national tourism zone on the beautiful coast of the Caspian Sea, where people could recreate and improve their health, prolong their lives. Of course, we expect to receive a large profit from the Avaza National Project that will be used to improve the welfare of our people. We started the project with construction of an artificial river. By developing tourism industry we will open the great truth about our country to the world on the one hand, and on the other hand this sector of national economy will be a source of substantial income for our people.

Turkmenistan is a country rich in hydrocarbon resources. We did important work aiming to use this wealth for the benefit of our people and to bring benefit to the peoples of other countries through equal partnership. In 2007, our oil and gas industry workers discovered several hydrocarbon deposits. We seek for the new routes to export our natural resources to world markets. We started construction of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline. We reached the agreement on construction of the Caspian gas pipeline and modernization of the existing gas transportation network. God grant, we will start this work in the nearest future.

Our policy of diversifying hydrocarbon exports, the modern internationally recognized approaches to Turkmen gas exports produced the good results. We concluded the contract with Russian Gazprom for Turkmen natural gas deliveries at the price of 130 US dollars per thousand cubic metres in the first half-year and 150 US dollars in the second half-year of 2008. God grant, we will use the profit earned from gas exports to improve the quality of life of our people, further development of the country. We build large industrial and sports facilities, social and cultural constructions, medical centres, houses with comfortable apartments. We buy up-to-date equipment and technologies for all sectors of national economy.

Dear compatriots,

Creating modern transport and communications infrastructure is a priority of the national social and economic development. The high pace of construction of the highways from Turkmenbashi to Farab, from Ashgabat to Dashoguz was achieved. We started the project on construction of the North-South transnational transport corridor supported by our partners and neighbours in the region. Recently construction of the international trunk railway, from which the countries in the west and east would benefit, was started in Bereket. New towns and settlements will spring up along the railway giving an opportunity to develop the natural resources in the Balkan Velayat. Thus, in the nearest future the people will start to enjoy the benefit from developing the resources.

For Turkmenistan the year 2007 was the year of the considerable progress in foreign policy. We noticeably intensified our activity in this field. We visited dozens of the foreign countries and received the delegations from dozens of the countries worldwide. During these visits and meetings we conducted the constructive talks on the issues of the vital interest to the people, the country. That resulted in rapid enhancement of Turkmenistan’s authority in the world arena. Our policy won the support and recognition of the international organisations including the United Nations Organisation, Organisation for Security and Development in Europe, European Union, Economic Cooperation Organisation, Islamic Conference Organisation, Commonwealth of Independent States and many others.

The token events in the year 2007 include electing Turkmenistan Vice Chairman of the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly, opening the UN Regional Centre for preventive Diplomacy in Ashgabat on the eve of the 12th anniversary of Turkmenistan neutrality. Each citizen of Turkmenistan has the right to be proud of that. We are very grateful to our neighbours and the states in the region for the support of our idea, for the profound confidence the United Nations Organisation – the consolidating body of world community, granted to our people and government, our policy. On the one hand, it is the high confidence granted at the international level, and on the other hand the awesome responsibility laid on us. We will continue to pursue our policy of neutrality, peace and concord, we will enhance Turkmenistan’s high prestige in the world arena with new accomplishments towards this aim.

Transparency of our economic policy, the favourable conditions created for foreign investors, the concord and stability reigning in the country stand as the key factors of intense interest of the world’s leading companies in co-operation with us. Our visits to the United States of America, Europe offered a powerful incentive to co-operation. We build our relations with the partners on the principles of the policy of permanent neutrality, friendship and fraternity, mutual benefit and respect.

Dear citizens of Turkmenistan,

We have every reason to consider the year 2007 succesfull in al respects. In 2008 we are to do much more. First, we are to continue and intensify the reforms initiated in many fields. Within the next few years we are to receive the return of the investments made in agriculture. We are to speed up the programme on development of rural areas, improvement of the social and living conditions of rural population. We invested 4 billion US dollars for these purposes at the first programme stage. We will invest more as the programme is implemented.

Having discovered the hydrocarbon deposits we are to develop processing capacities of the national fuel and energy sector. We are to speed up construction of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline, Caspian gas pipeline and to intensify the work in other fields. We are to speed up construction of the Turkmen Lake, the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran transnational railway, the highways. We are to intensify the works in the Avaza national tourism zone. We are to put into operation schools, kindergartens, sports facilities, healthcare establishments, industrial enterprises under construction now throughout the country.

Our people are remarkably diligent. Perhaps, there is no more happiness for each citizen of Turkmenistan than labour for the benefit of the beloved Motherland and family.

Our government will continue to take care of the welfare of the people. We will work to replenish the list of the free benefits, consistently raise salaries, pensions and allowances. We will seek for the opportunities to decrease the prices for petrol as far as possible. Everyone must do work diligently and effectively to fulfill the large-scale tasks.

I believe this task is within our grasp, by concerting our efforts we are to achieve the designated goal – to turn our beloved Motherland into a prosperous state with the high life quality. I would like to wish each of you, young and old, a happy New 2008 Year!

May the New Year be the year of new accomplishments for each citizen of Turkmenistan!

May the New Year be the year of the welfare and splendid holidays for our people!

May your sachak be abundant in viands! I would like to wish you strength and long worthy life! I would like to wish you a happy New Year! Be happy, dear compatriots!