Ashgabat, 21 January 2010 – Guided by humanitarian principles and acting in the spirit of the United Nations Charter, Turkmenistan has quickly responded to the call of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to all members of the international community “to come to Haiti's aid in this hour of need.” At an enlarged meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers last Thursday, 15 January, the President of Turkmenistan announced a humanitarian aid to the Haitian people worth USD 500 000 that was immediately transferred to a special account of the United Nations.

"Turkmenistan, who experienced all the dire consequences of the strong Ashgabat earthquake of 1948, cannot but sympathize with the earthquake victims," the President of Turkmenistan said during the government meeting. In his letter of condolence to the UN Secretary General, President Berdimuhamedov asked Ban Ki-moon to pass on his deepest condolences to families and relatives of those who died, and expressed his sympathy and support to the victims of this natural disaster.

Commenting on her government’s expression of solidarity with the people of Haiti in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, the Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the United Nations, Aksoltan Ataeva, stated that “the citizens of our country could not remain indifferent to the suffering of the people of Haiti.” Ms Ataeva recalled that in 1948 an earthquake in Turkmenistan took the lives of nearly 80% of all residents of Ashgabat. The number of victims in this occasion reached almost 176 thousand people.

By the scale of destruction the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake was the strongest one in the world during the second quarter of the last century. It ruined Ashgabat to the ground virtually in no time. At the time, all the Republics of the former Soviet Union rendered their assistance and support in dealing with the consequences of this natural disaster. They helped re-building Ashgabat from scratch. That experience is reminiscent of the current human tragedy in Haiti that inspired the Government and people of Turkmenistan to extend a helping hand to the people of this Caribbean island.

“We have seen an outpouring of international aid, commensurate with the scale of this disaster. Every nation, every international aid organization in the world, has mobilized for Haiti’s relief. Our job is to channel that assistance,” said Ban Ki-moon in his op-ed released on 19 January.

In a statement to the Turkmen press and TV last Saturday, 17 January, the UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan, Lenni Montiel, assured the President and the people of Turkmenistan that Turkmenistan’s aid would be used for immediate needs of women, men and children of Haiti who are now experiencing particular difficulties. He also referred to the minute of silence hold on 13 January by all UN staff in Turkmenistan in memory of UN staff who died and disappeared in this tragedy.

Reflecting on the effects of the disaster on the UN and UNDP staff operational capacity in Haiti, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark who accompanied the UN Secretary General during his recent visit to Haiti said that “this is a humanitarian emergency which requires an internationally coordinated relief effort.  Despite the damages to our operational capability in Haiti, UNDP stands ready to provide assistance to the Haitian people as they embark on the long road to recovery from this disaster.”