UN Secretary-General’s Visit to Turkmenistan: Overview and Press Coverage  | The President of Turkmenistan and the UN Secretary-General greet each other
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Ashgabat, 1-2 April 2010 – Turkmenistan was the first leg of the United Nations Secretary-General’s week-long tour of Central Asian countries. He arrived in Ashgabat late in the evening of April 1. On April 2, Mr. Ban Ki-moon had a full day of meetings and talks, including several meetings with President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. In these meetings the UN Secretary-General was accompanied by senior advisers – Under-Secretary-Generals Lynn Pascoe and Jan Kubis, Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia (UNRCCA) Miroslav Jenca and UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Lenni Montiel.
Other than that, there was an extended meeting of members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan with an expanded number of UN staff accompanying the UN Secretary-General. The meeting was followed by a Joint Statement of the President and the UN Secretary-General to the press. The text of discussions (Russian|English) between the UN Secretary-General and the President of Turkmenistan was covered in full in the local press. Later in the day, the UN Secretary-General and his delegation visited the Mausoleum of the First President of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov. The UN delegation also visited Central Asia’s largest Spiritual Mosque of Turkmenbashy in the village of Kipchak where the UN delegation paid tribute to the founder of Turkmenistan. Then, there was a visit to the UNRCCA, where the UN Secretary-General met with the staff of UNRCCA and answered questions from journalists.  | | The group photo with the UN Secretary-General, Mrs. Ban and all UN staff in Turkmenistan |
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In the afternoon, the UN Secretary-General and Mrs. Ban visited the UN House, where they met with the UN country team and extensively interacted with the UN staff. The Secretary-General and Mrs. Ban were presented with gifts – embroidery from one of the UNDP projects supporting people with disabilities and a scarf with national patterns. A group photo that included the UN Secretary-General, Mrs. Ban and all UN staff in Turkmenistan was also taken. Then, the UN delegation visited the National Institute for Democracy and Human Rights (NIDHR) under the President of Turkmenistan, where the UN Secretary-General was hosted by the Director of the NIDHR, Ms Yazdursun Gurbannazarova together with Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chairperson of the Interdepartmental Commission on monitoring the implementation of Turkmenistan’s international human rights commitments, Mr. Rashid Meredov and the Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the United Nations, Mrs. Aksoltan Atayeva. At the NIDHR, Mr. Ban Ki-moon discussed with Turkmen officials actions and initiatives conducted by the Government of Turkmenistan jointly with the UN in the area of human rights. The UN Secretary-General acknowledged the many initiatives carried out by the Government of Turkmenistan to improve human rights in the country and welcomed the commitments of the Government in this area. The cultural program of the UN Secretary-General and Mrs. Ban included a visit to an Equestrian Complex in Ashgabat where they spent very good time learning about famous Akhal Teke horses - the pride of the country. In the evening of April 2, at the State dinner in honour of the UN Secretary-General, both the President of Turkmenistan and the UN Secretary-General made long speeches (Russian|English) ratifying the discussions of the day. Read also:
**** UN NEWS SERVICE "TURKMENISTAN.RU" WEB SITE "TURKMENISTAN: THE GOLDEN AGE" WEB SITE | 
