President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov ratified an agreement between the governments of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan on increasing the volume of trade, as well as on expanding mutually beneficial partnerships between business entities of the two countries.

Construction of an enterprise for the production of glycyrrhizic acid starts in Turkmenabat. The new factory in the structure of the “Buyan” complex in Lebap, subordinate to the country's Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, will process licorice root and produce from it 390 tons of unrefined glycyrrhizic acid per year.

A tree was planted in the Ashgabat Botanical Garden - the European olive. This was done by a guest of our country, a Serb by nationality with an EU passport, Dubravka Yovanovic.

On Wednesday, the President of Turkmenistan held a meeting of the State Security Council on the results of the past year and key issues for the coming period.

A Persian leopard was spotted on the territory of the Badkhyz State Nature Reserve. The spotted predator fell into the lens of the camera trap.

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov ordered to stop the leak and ignition of gas in a crater that was formed in Darvaza region in the 1970s. Despite the fact that the gas crater has become a popular tourist attraction, the gas that burns in it harms the environment and affects the health of local residents.

On Thursday, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received the credentials of the new representative of the UN Children's Fund in Turkmenistan, Mohammad Fayyazi, delegated by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

China has become the first country with which sovereign Turkmenistan has established diplomatic relations, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said during a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador on Thursday.

Scientific seminar "Innovative technologies for the development of gas fields and the role of natural gas in the transition to a low-carbon future" is to be held in Ashgabat in May. The online event will be organized by the SC "Turkmengas" in partnership with the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Gaffney Cline and "Turkmen Forum".

Dr. Neda Berger, the head of the Austrian-Turkmen society and a great friend of the ORIENT website, who sometimes acts as an author of publications, sent a New Year's greetings to the editorial office.