Oriented on making people closer

During the working visit of the Turkmen delegation to the United States, a meeting dedicated to strategic cooperation in the field of education was held at the US State Department. The meeting was held at a high level with the participation of leading representatives of the American educational and diplomatic departments, including Deputy Director of the Office of Press and Public Diplomacy of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Tammy Palchikov, the Deputy Director of the Office of Global Education Programs Jamie Sharp, the Deputy Director of International Affairs of the US Department of Education Jennifer Hong, the Acting Director of the Office of South and Central Asian Affairs, Office of Academic Exchange Programs Karina Keating, and other representatives of the US Department of State. The Turkmen side was represented by the Deputy Minister of Education of Turkmenistan Azat Atayev, thr Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan to the United States Meret Orazov, the Vice-Rector of the International University for Humanities and Development N. Shihliyev, the Vice-Rector of the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan B. Myatliyev.

The main topic of discussion was the further development of cooperation in the field of education between Turkmenistan and the United States.

As it is known, as a result of the ninth round of bilateral political consultations between Turkmenistan and the United States, held at the US State Department on April 24, 2023, the "Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Education between the Government of Turkmenistan and the United States" was signed.

Since the signing of the Memorandum, a new format of interaction has been introduced. In cooperation with the US Embassy in Turkmenistan, a roadmap for the development of education, which includes current areas for the development of cooperation in the field of education, based on the priorities of the socio-economic development of Turkmenistan was developed. The high efficiency of the established mechanism of interaction in the implementation of joint projects, as well as the formation of new current areas of cooperation, was also noted.

During the meeting, the American side was also informed about the systematic work carried out under the leadership of the Esteemed President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov to improve the education system in accordance with international standards.

The positive experience of participation of Turkmen students and teachers in 16 educational programs implemented by the American Councils for International Education "ACCELS" in Turkmenistan, such as ELF, TEA, SUSI, Fulbright, Global UGRAD, IVLP, TechGirls, OpenWorld, etc., was also noted.

Having highly appreciated the results achieved in Turkmenistan in improving the education system, representatives of the American side proposed opportunities for cooperation through the educational programs Fulbright, Study in USA, IVLP and mechanisms for developing skills and knowledge in priority areas for the education system of Turkmenistan. In particular, on issues of methodology for conducting academic assessments, analyzing educational statistics, procedures for institutional and program accreditation, conducting centralized examinations, certification and licensing of teachers and heads of educational institutions, studying the experience of US universities in the field of combining science, education and production, as well as commercialization of research activities.

The Deputy Director of International Affairs of the US Department of Education informed about the institutional decentralized structure of the US education system, in particular, about the powers of federal bodies, states and educational institutions themselves. Having described in detail the quality assurance system of educational institutions, including 6 thousand professional educational institutions, the representative of the Department of Education proposed to develop scientific and educational contacts between educational institutions by using the potential that academic exchange programs represent.

Particular attention was paid to the development of new formats of academic exchanges, such as the "Study in USA" and "Fulbright" programs, which provide Turkmen students with the opportunity to receive a world-class education. In this regard, the possibility of organizing joint seminars and discussions with leading American experts was proposed to form the most appropriate trajectories for using the potential of the programs in accordance with the current areas for the education system of Turkmenistan, defined in national documents.

A particularly important point of the meeting was the consideration of the issue of creating branches of American universities in Turkmenistan. Such a step will not only strengthen bilateral cooperation, but will also be a significant contribution to the development of the Turkmen higher education system, providing students with access to advanced educational technologies and methodologies. Representatives of both sides emphasized the importance of sustainable and long-term cooperation aimed at training highly qualified personnel for innovative sectors of the economy.

Noting that after the signing of the "Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Education between the Government of Turkmenistan and the United States" in 2023, significant work has been done to deepen cooperation between the parties, the issue of cooperation in creating a branch of a leading American university in Turkmenistan was discussed. The initiative of an authoritative US university to cooperate in this area was noted as a high appreciation of the quality of the education system in Turkmenistan.

The parties also discussed specific further steps to deepen cooperation in the field of education.

ORIENT news

Photo: education.gov.tm