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On Friday, April 19, the completion ceremony of the project on Assistance in Improving Public Administration (GSP) sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) took place at the Yildiz Hotel in the capital. The event brought together representatives of public organizations, a number of ministries and departments, deputies of the Mejlis and employees of the diplomatic corps of the country.

Chris Bergaust, Executive Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe and Asia of the U.S. Department of State, and Chemen Rejepova, deputy of the Committee of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan for Work with Local Representative Authorities and Self-Government, made a welcoming address. The regional coordinator of the State Department in his address noted:

— I am extremely pleased to see that the GSP project has led to such significant results during its implementation. Most recently, as part of the Program, Mejlis deputies went on a working trip to the United States to study world lawmaking practices and enrich their experience in this field. The program helps to strengthen friendly relations between our nations, and I look forward to new projects aimed at close cooperation, because active interaction is the key to sustainable development and prosperity throughout the region.

Chemen Rejepova, in turn, gave a positive assessment to the active cooperation of the Mejlis with a number of international organizations, among which USAID occupies an important place:

— In order to improve the legislative system of Turkmenistan, the Mejlis closely cooperates with many countries of the world and international organizations: UNICEF, UNDP, GIZ, USAID and others. Recently, as Mr. Bergaust mentioned, the deputies of the Mejlis were on a working trip to the United States, and a similar visit to Georgia will take place very soon. The continued support of USAID GSP helps us achieve our legislative goals, and I hope that our cooperation will only grow stronger in the future.

Next, Nicholas Wyland, Director of Q2Impact (the organization that implemented the project), made a presentation on the results of the Program on democracy, security and humanitarian programs. In his speech, the speaker stressed that working with the GSP project has become one of the most valuable experiences in his life. Over the almost 10 years of the Program, thanks to the joint efforts of USAID and key partners, remarkable results have been achieved, which means that even greater heights will be achieved in the future.

Following a detailed analysis of the work carried out over the past 9 years, Nargiza Metyakubova, a USAID specialist in public health and public administration, presented a new Agency project – Governance Activity in Turkmenistan (GAT, "Management Activities in Turkmenistan"). The program is planned to be launched in May this year, and it will last for 5 years, until May 2029. The new project, as well as GSP, will focus on the interaction of USAID with the government of Turkmenistan, public organizations and the private sector of the country.

With the announcement of the new project, the guests of the event were shown a video clip in which the main achievements within the framework of the GSP were collected. After that, the international consultant of the project, George Tugushi, made an online appeal. The specialist expressed gratitude to the members of the government involved in the work of the program, and noted a great desire to visit Turkmenistan again in the near future.

At the end of the event, National coordinator of international programs of the Academy of Civil Service under the President of Turkmenistan Babahan Berdiyev and National Legal Consultant of USAID GSP Elbars Kepbanov spoke with words of gratitude. Noting the significant positive contribution made by USAID within the framework of the project, the speakers thanked the partners for their long-term support and fruitful collaboration.

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