Thanks to the tireless efforts of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Hero-Arkadag, and the President of the country, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the concluding International Year of Peace and Trust is being inscribed in golden letters in the pages of our history. The celebrations of this year, filled with glorious events and marked by the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the permanent neutrality of the Motherland, have left pleasant memories in our hearts.

Turkmen citizens take pride in the status of permanent neutrality, which has been recognized three times by the United Nations. In the era of the Revival of the new epoch of the powerful state, the international authority and glory of our independent, neutral Motherland have risen to unprecedented heights. During the International Year of Peace and Trust, thanks to Turkmenistan’s initiatives, relations of friendship, brotherhood, and cooperation in the world have received exemplary development. Proof of this can be seen in the international conferences, meetings, and exhibitions organized in our white-marble capital Ashgabat, in the city of Arkadag, and in the National Tourist Zone “Avaza.” All these high-level international forums, which attracted the attention of the global community and generated great interest in the world information space, became a kind of celebration of the growing recognition and authority of our neutral Motherland.

The current days, bringing us closer to the New Year, grant our people unforgettable moments of happiness and joy. Analyzing the path traversed during the International Year of Peace and Trust, we see the scale of the colossal work accomplished. In particular, new etraps, settlements, and villages have appeared in the regions of the country. Modern residential buildings, facilities for education, culture, healthcare, sports, and tourism, as well as powerful production complexes, have been commissioned. New oil and gas fields have been discovered and put into operation. Alongside other vital sectors, a number of large-scale projects in the fuel and energy complex are being successfully implemented. Within the framework of the National Strategy, comprehensive work has been carried out at industrial enterprises to reduce methane emissions, introduce environmentally friendly advanced technologies, and use renewable energy sources.

It should be noted that the production structures of Balkan velayat, which have achieved impressive successes in the economic and socio-cultural spheres in the era of the Revival of the new epoch of the powerful state, are also welcoming the New Year with worthy labor achievements. Today, the Balkan velayat, located in a geoeconomically advantageous part of the globe at the crossroads of the Great Silk Road being revived in a new format, possesses colossal reserves of underground and surface resources. It occupies a key place along routes of rail, air, sea, and automobile communications, as well as pipelines intended for the transportation of hydrocarbon raw materials. The map of the velayat, transformed thanks to the creative activities of Hero-Arkadag and Arkadagly Hero Serdar, evokes a sense of pride. These places encompass vast territories beginning from the shores of the Caspian Sea, with large and small rivers, streams, mountains, hills, boundless deserts, and plains stretching deep into the country, as well as fertile fields. The main volumes of oil extracted in the country, billions of cubic meters of gas, large volumes of fish and fish products, natural resources, table salt, technical iodine, sodium sulfate, bischofite, bromine, and much more are concentrated here. As the President of the country notes in his historic speeches, all this contributes to the growth of the socio-economic potential of our powerful Motherland and to an increase in the standard of living of the people.

May the coming New Year become a year of well-being and prosperity, in which international peace and trust will be strengthened even further! We express our gratitude to the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Hero-Arkadag, and Arkadagly Hero Serdar for their initiatives of international significance, for the activities carried out for the benefit of the citizens of Turkmenistan and all humanity, and we wish them strong health, long life, and success in all endeavors!

Oguljeren Durdyyeva,
Lecturer at the Yagshygeldi Kakayev International Oil and Gas University