Ashgabat Hosted OSCE International Conference on Energy Security
Ashgabat hosted an International Conference on “Energy Security and Sustainable Development in the OSCE Region.” Participants included leaders and senior representatives of international organizations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), international oil and gas companies, scientists, and experts, including the OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier; the UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Sven Alkalaj; the OSCE Chairman and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Leonid Kozhara; and the Turkish Minister of Development, Cevdet Yilmaz. "An effective form of cooperation with the EU has been created," President Berdymukhamedov said in his opening speech on energy cooperation. "At this stage, substantive work is being conducted to establish a legal framework for the implementation of a project for natural gas supplies from Turkmenistan to Europe in the future.” The Turkmen President said that a joint committee including representatives of Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and the European Union is working toward this end.
The conference participants heard reports on energy diplomacy, integration and legal relations; the functioning of the global energy system; the interaction of producer countries, transit countries and consumers of energy resources; and the development of international cooperation in the fields of energy resources, technology transfer and use of alternative energy sources.
A number of meetings were held as part of the conference, including the quadrilateral meeting of the delegations of Ukraine, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan.
At the end of the conference, the OSCE Acting Chairman and the Government of Turkmenistan signed a joined statement, saying that the conference marked an important step toward providing global energy security. President Berdymukhamedov held a personal meeting with the OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier to discuss energy security and stability of energy supplies. The OSCE regards Turkmenistan as one of its key partners in the region, said Zannier.
Sources: Turkmenistan.ru, trend.az, Turkmenistan.ru, Turmenistan.ru
Turkmenistan Hosted V International Investment Forum
Turkmenistan’s Avaza tourist resort served as the site for the V International Investment Forum, organized by Turkmenistan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The Forum brought together about 200 delegates representing public and private organizations from more than 20 countries, as well as international financial institutions and more than 30 international companies. Participants came from Russia, USA, China, UK, UAE, Japan, Austria, Turkey, France, Belgium, India, Poland, Serbia, Greece, Estonia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Armenia, and other countries. Specialists from the International Finance Corporation, the Islamic Development Bank, the International Development Bank of Japan, as well as chambers of commerce and industry from a number of states also attended the event.
The Turkmen delegation included government officials, heads of ministries and departments, the administration of Balkan province, as well as representatives of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan. As Turkmen specialists mentioned in their statements, eliminating Turkmenistan’s dependence on fuel and raw materials and gradually transitioning to industrial development is the guiding principle for modern Turkmenistan’s economic development.
Foreign guests expressed particular interest in the legal protection of foreign investors and enterprises with foreign investments in Turkmenistan.
Source: Turkmenistan.ru
Delegation of Russian Federation Holds Talks at Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan
Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation on the delimitation and demarcation of borders between Russia and the CIS Igor Bratchikov, lead a delegation from Russia at Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to the press service of the Turkmen Foreign Ministry, talks covered the legal status of the Caspian Sea and other issues related to the Caspian.
Source: Turkmenistan.ru
Former Head of Health Ministry Appointed Ambassador to Japan
Kurbanmamet Eliasov, who served as Turkmenistan’s Health Minister from April 2010 until July 2013, was appointed Ambassador of Turkmenistan in Japan.
Source: gundogar.org
New Turkmen Ambassador accredited to China
The Turkmen Ambassador to China, Chinar Rustamova, delivered his credentials to the Chairman of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, in Beijing, the Turkmen government reported. At the meeting, the Turkmen and Chinese parties noted the intensified inter-state relations and discussed Turkmen-Chinese cooperation in the political, trade and economic, humanitarian, and cultural sectors.
Source: trend.az
Turkmenistan 83d in World Slavery Index
The Australian human rights organization Walk Free Foundation published its first Global Slavery Index 2013, which provides a ranking of 162 countries, based on three factors: the estimated prevalence of modern slavery, child marriage, and cross-border human trafficking. The Index is heavily weighted to reflect the first factor, prevalence. Rankings are made with one as the worst, 160 as the best. Mauritania, a West African nation with deeply entrenched hereditary slavery, is ranked number one in the Index, followed by Haiti, Pakistan, India, and Nepal. Iceland, Ireland, and Great Britain are at the end of the list as the most free from slavery. Among Central Asian countries, Uzbekistan has the lowest ranking at number 47, and Turkmenistan at 83. The Walk Free Foundation reported that in Turkmenistan, with a population of 5.2 million people, roughly 15,000 may be considered to be enslaved.
Source: gundogar.org
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