Turkmenistan: Foreign Companies Flock to Pay Tribute to President
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov turned 54 on June 29, and Turkmen officials and parliamentarians, leaders of neighboring countries and foreign oil executives wished him a happy birthday and congratulated him for receiving various awards. A gala reception was held -- although the State News Agency of Turkmenistan didn't publish the guest list or the names of any entertainers hired, it lavishly reported on the parade of business leaders coming to pay tribute to the Turkmen leader last week.
Jay Pryor, Vice President of Business Development at Chevron, and Douglas Uchikura, President of Chevron Nebitgaz B.V. in Turkmenistan met with the Turkmen leader in his Serdar residence on June 30 to convey their best wishes and offer their services for offshore oil and gas exploration. Although it has been nearly a year since President Berdymukhamedov appeared to promise Chevron a bloc in the Caspian Sea (formerly pledged to Lukoil), Chevron has still not received the permit, and at this meeting, the Turkmen leader merely said he would study the proposals. Chevron has been providing assistance to Turkmenistan via USAID by helping to train accountants.
Leaders of Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates all sent birthday greetings as did the governor of St. Petersburg, the new Chinese envoy Ambassador Xiao Qinghua, French Ambassador Pierre Lebovich and US Ambassador Robert E. Patterson, Jr. There was no danger that any fireworks at the annual July 4th celebration of US Independence Day would upstage Berdymukhamedov's birthday week, as the Americans held their celebration early, on June 23, apparently to time it with a jazz musicians' tour organized by the State Department. Ambassador Patterson used the occasion to highlight business contacts and note the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, apparently functioning in Turkmenistan again after a hiatus of some months when the Turkmen government cancelled visas for one group ready to depart.
Then a long parade of corporations came to the Serdar residence to pay tribute to the Turkmen leader, including Russia's Kamaz, the Turkish companies Polimex, Erku, Norsel International, Lotus Energy, Renaissance Holdings, Engin Group, and Kotam Enterprises, Ltd.; Austria's OMV, a member of the Nabucco consortium, and French construction company Vinci Construction Grand Projets, the French Association of Entrepreneurs, and Sifal.
The French construction company Bouygues wasn't in the list this time, but in May, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty the ribbon was cut on a grand $250 million presidential palace built by Bouygues, topped by three golden domes, whose main purpose seemed to be to outdo an $80 million palace for past dictator Saparmurat Niyazov. (See photo by David Stanley above, and check out other photos of Turkmenistan's grand buildings in his Flickr stream.)
Berdymukhamedov appeared resplendent in his summer white linen jacket and green tie, ascending the white marble steps on a runner with the colors of Turkmenistan's flag, to be greeted by little children in white suits.
In one of the more synchophatic foreign gestures to the Turkmen leader this year, Turkish magazine Suyaset (Policy) conferred its "Honor Award of Democracy of the Year" for "great transformations carried out in Turkmenistan, strengthening of public welfare, and significant contribution to strengthening the democratic foundations and large-scale activities to promote human rights in the country and the progress made in this direction.” Progress?
The president also received the Ataturk Turkish Language Award from the
International Olympiad in Culture and Talents in the Turkish Language which also inappropriately claimed accomplishments in "democracy" and "sustainable development" and and to top it off, the International Road Transport Union (IRU) gave Berdymukhamedov its "Grand Prix d'Honneur" for “outstanding activities to promote trade and international road transportation.”
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