20 ЛЕТ НЕЙТРАЛИТЕТА
FESTIVITIES AHEAD OF TURKMENISTAN’S NEUTRALITY DAY
On December 11, the day before International Neutrality Day, the Turkmen capital hosted festive events celebrating the significant date – 25 years of the country’s permanent neutrality.
In the morning, in accordance with a Presidential Decree, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a ceremony to present recipients with the Turkmenistanyn Bitaraplygynyn 25 Yyllygyna Medal in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the country’s neutrality.
Medal presentation events were held today countrywide to honor the best specialists in different sectors of the national economy, top-performing workers, employees of ministries, agencies and their departments, creative professionals, who had made major personal contributions to promoting the socio-economic development of Turkmenistan and enhancing its international standing.
Celebrations were also organized at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which is currently hosting the large exhibition showcasing our country’s achievements in different sectors. The exhibition’s final day was devoted to the Foreign Ministry’s activities and emphasized the importance of the agency’s multifaceted efforts to implement the foreign policy doctrine of independent neutral Turkmenistan.
One of the highlights of the day was an international presentation of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov’s new book “Turkmenistan: A Land of Neutrality”.
Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the event was attended by leaders of the national parliament, accredited international organizations in Ashgabat, our country’s public organizations, and the mass media. Diplomats of some countries joined the event via videoconferencing.
Those speaking at the event highlighted that the new book by the head of state published ahead of the important historical and political date is a detailed and rich in content work on the role of positive neutrality in our country’s modern development, which reflects the permanent objective of Turkmenistan’s foreign policy, based on the principles of peace, openness, good neighborliness, and equitable, mutually rewarding cooperation with all interested foreign partners.
Speakers at the event also included Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Satoshi Nakanishi, international expert and politician Vladimir Goryaev, UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Elena Panova, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the European Union to Turkmenistan Diego Ruiz Alonso, among others. They spoke about the international importance of Turkmenistan’s neutrality and the Turkmen leader’s foreign policy and initiatives.
The European Union highly applauds and supports international initiatives by the head of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov that seek to find effective ways of tackling today’s burning issues facing the global community and to create optimal conditions for sustainable development on the regional and global scales, the diplomat stressed.
The attendees highly praised the policy of positive neutrality pursued by the head of Turkmenistan and agreed unanimously that the Turkmen leader’s new book would be of interest to specialists and a wide readership alike.
The presentation event participants sent a message of gratitude to President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and expressed their deep gratitude for the policy designed to promote world peace, security and closer mutually advantageous cooperation with all intersted countries.
A number of documents aimed to strengthen international partnership were signed as part of the International Exhibition.