Deputy Chairman of State Customs Sacked
President Berdymukhamedov fired the deputy head of State Customs, Merdan Miradov, for serious shortcomings in his work. The Turkmen leader stressed that customs officials have to be very delicate, friendly, and hospitable to people crossing the Turkmen border while performing their duties which will “contribute towards the country's prestige.”
In 2012 Turkmenistan assumed the presidency of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the regional grouping formed in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union to promote cooperation between the former Soviet Republics.