The events of the past week reflected the key directions of the overall transformation strategy consistently implemented by the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov - further strengthening the democratic and legal foundations of the country, increasing its economic potential, enhancing constructive international cooperation, caring for the prosperous life of the people.
Issues of the development of the agro-industrial complex and the course of seasonal agricultural campaigns were discussed at a working meeting held by the head of state via the digital system on April 3rd.
At the same time, specific instructions were addressed to the heads of the regional administrations to meet the deadlines and ensure the high quality of construction work at social and industrial facilities within the framework of the country's socio-economic development program and the National Rural Program, which are scheduled to be put into operation this year, as well as for the preparation of events dedicated to the World Health Day.
On April 5th, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov met with Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan of the Russian Federation Rustam Minnikhanov, who arrived in Turkmenistan on a working visit.
During the conversation, the need was emphasized to increase the number of export-import operations, expand the range and range of mutually supplied goods and services, develop direct contacts between business circles, and create joint ventures.
The interest of the Turkmen side in building up cooperation in the humanitarian sphere, including through science, education and culture, was also noted.
Prospects for expanding fruitful cooperation were discussed at the meeting of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov with Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan of the Russian Federation Rustam Minnikhanov on the same day.
President Serdar Berdimuhamedov also received the governor of the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation, Igor Babushkin, who arrived in our country at the head of the Caspian Sea of Friendship motor rally.
During the meeting, it was noted that there are great opportunities for developing a mutually beneficial partnership with the Astrakhan region, including in the trade and economic sphere.
The parties discussed issues of maximizing the potential of the International Seaport of Turkmenbashi. In this regard, the head of state noted the expediency of opening a regular shipping line between the port of Turkmenbashi and the ports of the Astrakhan region. Particular emphasis was placed on the existing wide opportunities for cooperation in the shipbuilding and ship repair industry.
On April 5th, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov also received the chairman of the Union of Chambers and Exchanges of Turkiye, Rifat Hisarciklyoglu.
An exchange of views took place on the prospects for further cooperation, including in the field of trade, in the fuel and energy and chemical complexes, the textile and food industries, in the transport, communications and agricultural industries.
The businessman confirmed the readiness of Turkish business circles to continue to take an active part in the implementation of large-scale reform programs and infrastructure projects in Turkmenistan.
The fruitfulness of the consistent buildup of dialogue in the political, diplomatic, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian fields was noted during the meeting of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov with the Chairman of the Union of Chambers and Exchanges of Turkiye Rifat Hisarcyklyoglu, which took place the day before.
President Serdar Berdimuhamedov also received Executive Director of the Turkmen-American Business Council Eric Stewart and representatives of a number of large American companies.
The businessmen confirmed the desire of US business circles to further develop productive ties with Turkmenistan in various fields. Among them are the oil and gas sector, the electric power industry, renewable energy, transport and communications, the agro-industrial complex, the textile industry, and the high-tech sector.
There are also good opportunities for cooperation in the sports field.
On April 6th, the first meeting of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan of the seventh convocation was held at the Center for Public Organizations with the participation of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov.
During the meeting, the powers of all 125 deputies elected on March 26th were confirmed.
By secret ballot D. Gulmanova from the constituency No. 5 “Parahatçylyk” of the city of Ashgabat was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the Mejlis of the seventh convocation. According to the results of open voting, G. Roziev from the constituency No. 77 “Farap” of Lebap velayat was elected the Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis.
Wishing them success in their work, the President of the country signed the relevant Laws of Turkmenistan.
By unanimous approval of the deputy corps, a resolution was adopted on the creation of eight committees of the parliament: for the protection of human rights and freedoms; according to the legislation and its norms; on economic issues; on social policy; on science, education, culture and youth policy; on environmental protection, nature management and agro-industrial complex; on international and inter-parliamentary relations; on work with local representative authorities and self-government.
The heads of the main structural divisions of the Mejlis of the country were elected as a result of voting.
Speaking at the meeting, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov outlined the urgent tasks facing the parliamentarians of the new convocation.
As the head of state emphasized, the protection of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of Turkmenistan, is the main goal of the state policy being pursued. Based on this, one of the main functions of the country's legislative body is to modernize the legal framework for this work.
In this context, the relevance of preparing the Civil Code of Turkmenistan in a new edition, taking into account the realities of the present time and positive international practice, was stated. Purposeful work is required to introduce amendments and additions to the Code of Administrative Offenses of Turkmenistan and other codes.
In order to train qualified military personnel with strong willed qualities and sound thinking, brought up in the spirit of devotion and love for the Fatherland and the people, the Laws of Turkmenistan “On the status of military personnel” and “On military duty and military service” should also be reviewed.
Changes and additions demanded by the time must be made to the Tax and Customs Codes and a number of other Laws of Turkmenistan.
Among the long-term plans is further modernization of the Laws of Turkmenistan “On Joint Stock Companies”, “On State Support for Small and Medium Enterprises”, “On Foreign Economic Activity” and “On the Securities Market”.
At the same time, the expediency of developing the draft Law of Turkmenistan “On Amendments and Additions to the Labor Code of Turkmenistan”, revision of the Family Code and the legislation of Turkmenistan on acts of civil status, improvement of the Laws of Turkmenistan “On Foreign Investments” and “On Hydrocarbon Resources” was noted.
The Laws of Turkmenistan “On the protection of objects of national historical and cultural heritage”, “On hydrometeorological activities”, “On farming”, the Water Code and a number of other legislative acts also need to be revised or amended.
Along with this, it was noted that the development and adoption of the Law of Turkmenistan “On the establishment of the anniversary medal of Turkmenistan “Magtymguly Pyragynyň 300 ýyllygyna”, in order to solemnly celebrate in our country a significant date - the 300th anniversary of the outstanding thinker and classical poet of the East Magtymguly Fragi and popularize it rich and priceless literary heritage, will become a significant contribution to increasing the greatness of this personality.
On the same day, a meeting was held on the results of the first meeting of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan of the seventh convocation. As the speakers noted, the elections of deputies of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan, members of the velayat, etrap, city halk maslahaty and Gengeshes held on March 26, 2023, became a confirmation of the high civic activity in the implementation of large-scale reforms deployed in the country.
To solve the tasks identified in the deeply meaningful speech of the President of the country, the Mejlis of Turkmenistan will carry out the necessary work to provide legislative and legal support for the goals of the Program “Revival of a new era of powerful state: the National program for the socio-economic development of Turkmenistan in 2022-2052”.
On April 7th, a telephone conversation took place between President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi.
The heads of state discussed the priority aspects of bilateral cooperation, which is based on long-standing ties of friendship, brotherhood and good neighborliness. The commitment of both countries to constructive interaction with authoritative international organizations, primarily with the UN, was reaffirmed.
The interlocutors also discussed the possibilities of building up partnership in the political, diplomatic, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres. It was noted that there is a great potential for expanding cooperation in the fuel and energy, transport and communication complexes and in agriculture.
On April 7th, according to tradition, the World Health Day was celebrated in Turkmenistan with a mass bike ride. The column of its participants in the capital was headed by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov.
The route of the cycling marathon ran along the most beautiful highways of the capital from the Bicycle monument located at the intersection of Chandybil Avenue and Bekreve Street to the Rukhyet Palace in the center of Ashgabat.
Members of the Government, leaders of the Mejlis, ministries and departments, military and law enforcement agencies, public organizations, the media, rectors of universities took part in the mass action. Among the participants are heads and representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations accredited in our country.
Among the adherents of a healthy lifestyle are athletes of the national cycling team of Turkmenistan, student youth, students of the School for the preparation of young Olympians and secondary schools, pupils of the Döwletliler köşgi Palace, and members of the public.
The festive atmosphere was enhanced by the inspiring performances of creative teams that welcomed cyclists along the route.
Various sports, health and fitness events were held that day throughout the country, including in the new city of Arkadag, where the mass cycling marathon was led by the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
The ceremony of honoring the athletes of our country, who successfully performed and won prizes in prestigious international competitions held in the first quarter of this year, was timed to coincide with World Health Day. In the sports complex of martial arts of the Ashgabat Olympic village, in a solemn atmosphere, they were presented with valuable gifts on behalf of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
In addition, last week the President of Turkmenistan signed Decrees on the appointment of the khyakim of the Gorjava etrap of the city of Arkadag, the editor-in-chief of the Arkadag newspaper, as well as on the rotation in the prosecutor's office and the judiciary.
The head of state also signed a Decree on the appointment of the director of the Arkadag TV channel of the State Committee of Turkmenistan for Television, Radio Broadcasting and Cinematography.
Turning to other events of the past week, we note the participation of the delegation of Turkmenistan in the High-Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly initiated by the Republic of Turkey on reducing waste to zero.
The forum, held under the chairmanship of Turkmenistan as Vice-Chairman of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, was attended by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, First Lady of Turkiye Emine Erdogan, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) Maimunakh Mohd Sharif, high-level delegations of member countries, as well as heads of relevant UN specialized agencies.
In the Message of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and his wife Ogulgerek Berdimuhamedova, addressed to the President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife, Mrs. Emine Erdogan, the high level of fraternal interstate relations was noted along with the mutual support of our countries for international initiatives and proposals of each other.
Particular emphasis was placed on the high significance of the global campaign initiated by the Republic of Turkey to promote “zero waste” initiative, which is aimed at intensifying our common efforts in solving the problems of environmental protection and rational use of natural resources.
In his speech at the Meeting of the UN General Assembly, the Turkmen side informed in detail about the environmental steps taken at the national level, which bring positive results.
As noted, in the context of large-scale reforms initiated by the Hero-Arkadag and now successfully implemented under the leadership of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, special attention is paid to improving the living standards of the country's population, reducing the gap between urban and rural population, and for these purposes - establishing waste management systems in populated areas and introduction of innovative technologies for the disposal of household and industrial waste.
Being in solidarity with Turkiye on key issues of modern development, Turkmenistan will continue joint efforts to promote the zero waste initiative in order to comprehensively address interrelated economic, social and environmental issues at the international, regional and national levels.
The successes achieved, the prospects for increasing the production of domestic goods and expanding the service sector were demonstrated by the exhibition of the trade complex of Turkmenistan, held at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
More than a hundred enterprises and structures of the shopping complex, domestic entrepreneurs producing a wide range of goods - food, building materials, electronics, household chemicals, cosmetics and perfumes, furniture, carpets, textiles and leather products, works of arts and crafts took part in the review. , as well as providing services in the field of logistics and tourism.
Within the framework of the exhibition, the ceremony of launching the Trade Information Portal of Turkmenistan, developed to facilitate the entry of our country into the World Trade Organization, in particular, the implementation of the protocol on trade facilitation, was held.
The online platform, created by the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations of Turkmenistan with the financial support of the EU, as well as with the technical assistance of the International Trade Center and UNCTAD, contains data on exports, imports and transit of strategic product groups for the country's economy.
The exhibition of the trade complex of Turkmenistan was visited by the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and the head of the Republic of Tatarstan of the Russian Federation Rustam Minnikhanov. Here, Arkadag held meetings with the head of the Republic of Tatarstan and the chairman of the Union of Chambers and Exchanges of Turkey, at which the main directions for the development of relations were discussed, tasks and prospects for interaction were identified.
At the invitation of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the head of the Union of Chambers and Exchanges of Turkey visited the city of Arkadag and got acquainted with its architectural features and facilities planned for construction.
A significant event in the further deepening of fruitful interstate cooperation in the humanitarian, scientific and educational spheres was the publication of the XIV volume of the scientific work of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of Turkmenistan, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov "Medicinal Plants of Turkmenistan" in English.
The unique encyclopedia of flora and folk herbal medicine has already become the property of millions of readers, giving them a wonderful opportunity to join the centuries-old experience and traditions of the Turkmen people, who have made a huge contribution to the treasury of achievements of human civilization, including in the field of medicine.
Thus, the events of the past week have demonstrated the effectiveness of large-scale programs and projects implemented under the leadership of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, designed to ensure the further development of the Motherland, increase the welfare of the people, and expand constructive mutually beneficial international cooperation.
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In the holy month of Ramadan, at the age of 86, Ogulabat Berdimuhamedova, the mother of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, the Hero-Arkadag and the grandmother of Arkadagly Serdar, passed away. The Turkmen people took this sad news with deep sorrow.
Ogulabat-eje, who devoted her worthy life to serving her native people and the Fatherland, the hearth, the upbringing of her descendants, was an impeccable example of love for the Motherland, humanism, devotion to family shrines and national values.
In a telephone conversation between President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon on April 8, the leader of the friendly country expressed deep condolences and sincere support to the head of Turkmenistan, as well as to Hero Arkadag, their families and friends.
The wishes of mental fortitude in the face of this grave, irreparable loss were also expressed in their messages by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym Zhomart-Tokayev, President of the United Arab Emirates Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other members of the government of this country.
Condolences keep coming.