Oriented on making people closer

Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. Special Envoy for Reconciliation in Afghanistan, and his wife Dr. Cheryl Benard visited Ashgabat.

Khalilzad arrived in the Turkmen capital in a new role – as the founder of Gryphon Partners. Initially focused on the Middle East and Central Asia, GP has expanded into promising emerging and frontier markets around the world.

In addition to business development, GP pays great attention to the protection of cultural heritage sites. And Cheryl Benard runs the Alliance for the Restoration of Cultural Heritage (ARCH), based in Washington, DC.

On Monday Mrs. Benard became an honorary guest of the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, where she got acquainted with the educational and public awareness activities of the Higher School of Diplomacy.

The first object that attracted the attention of a guest from the USA was a large ethnographic installation of a Turkmen yurt in the main building of the university. This platform, decorated according to all the canons of a traditional Turkmen dwelling, but scaled to the size of a modern art space, where, by the way, all the games of experts from the "Young Messengers of the World" series took place, was the starting point in Cheryl Benard's tour around the territory and campus of the IIRMFA of Turkmenistan.

During the observation, she also visited the studio where students are recording TV shows, editing, processing, and mixing materials for reports and videos from the life of the university and the country.

The guest appreciated the excellent equipment of creative laboratories for future international journalists, who have the latest technical means and capabilities at their disposal.

Cheryl Benard visited the university library and the local museum, which can be proud of copies of unique documents related to the history of Turkmen diplomacy, and the guest did not fail to capture them in a photo.

During the tour, vice-rector of the university Gulshat Yusupova told Mrs. Benard about the activities of the university, its achievements and development plans.

Shiri Shiriev, Head of the Center for Strategic Studies of the IIR of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, told the guest about the analytical work in this structural unit of the Foreign Ministry of the country.

At the end of her stay at the higher school of diplomacy, Cheryl Benard shared her impressions in an interview.

– Even on my first visit to Ashgabat, I was struck by the beauty of the city. I often say to my friends, "Oh, you should visit Ashgabat! This is extraordinary!". Magnificent buildings, beautiful fountains! Ashgabat is turning from a kind of "terra incognita" for Americans into a discovery, because I think that there are prospects for closer friendly relations between our two countries ahead.

The infrastructure is very impressive. You have excellent opportunities here, and it is wonderful that you have such educational resources for future diplomats, such as the IIR news studio, because it really gives students modern skills of the profession. I hope that when I return to Turkmenistan next time, I will see your students working as certified specialists.

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