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• SHALVA PAPUASHVILI: THE STRONG PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THESE TWO COUNTRIES SERVES AS A CORNERSTONE FOR ENSURING THE SECURITY OF THE CAUCASUS REGION

  "Cooperation between Georgia and Azerbaijan is crucial for maintaining regional peace and stability. The strong partnership between these two countries serves as a cornerstone for ensuring the security of the Caucasus region”, - the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, H.E. Shalva Papuashvili stated at the reception dedicated to the 105th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
  The Speaker dwelt on the improvement of the security environment in the region.

  According to him, the armed forces are the pride and strength of the country.

  "We are fully committed to promoting the enhancement of the security environment in our region. On this momentous day, I want to emphasize the significance of the armed forces in not only safeguarding our nations but also ensuring the peaceful coexistence of our people. The armed forces are a source of pride and strength for our country. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the people of Azerbaijan on Independence Day and Armed Forces Day, and I wish them peace, success, and prosperity. May the armed forces of Azerbaijan serve their nation with honor and dignity", - Shalva Papuashvili stated.

• Turkmenistan and Tajikistan have adopted a Declaration on deepening strategic partnership

  Following the high-level talks, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan adopted a Declaration on deepening strategic partnership, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon said in a press statement published on the official website of the head of state.

  "This historic decision meets the fundamental interests of our peoples and is one of the important factors for the development and stability of the region," Rahmon said.

  The Governments of Turkmenistan and Tajikistan will work out in detail and submit proposals regarding the rise of economic ties between the countries. Documents on the development of trade and economic ties signed following the visit of President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov to Tajikistan will contribute to this.

  Rahmon also said that during the negotiations, the parties agreed to increase the efficiency of the work of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation.

• AMBASSADOR DEGNAN'S REMARKS TO MEDIA AT SKILLS WEEK

  Question about the event

  Ambassador Degnan:  I’m very pleased to be here today, along with the Minister of Education, my EU colleague, and many other distinguished guests for the launch of Georgia’s Skills Week. The United States has been helping Georgia develop its education sector for years, including in the area of vocational education and training. This is because we want Georgian citizens to be able to acquire the skills they need through vocational education and training in order to get good paying jobs for rewarding lifelong careers. This is our latest program through USAID: industry-led skills bring together the private sector that coordinates with vocational education and training institutions to make sure that students are coming out with the skills that are needed in today’s market. The programs are designed to bring together the government, the private sector, vocational and education training institutions, and civil society to make sure that Georgians have the opportunity for better paying jobs and rewarding careers that are going to help both their families and their communities. So, we are delighted today to launch Skills Week, a weeklong celebration of the achievements that Georgia has made in this area.

  Question on designations on individuals associated with the Georgian judiciary and U.S. study tours for judges

  Ambassador Degnan: Our study tours have been popular and successful because they bring together judges from the United States with judges in Georgia and give them an opportunity to learn from each other and to share their best practices and lessons learned. Sometimes they talk about how they manage their courtrooms, the heavy workloads, or sometimes particularly interesting issues that come up during cases. Our programs are open to those who are qualified, as well as those who will benefit from these exchanges with American judges and maybe bring ideas back to their courtrooms. They’re also open to those who can go because this is a big time commitment. Sometimes, given the workloads of judges here, they’re not always able to go for the full two weeks; sometimes it’s even longer than two weeks. So, we are always delighted when Georgian judges choose to participate in our programs, and we usually have a lot of interest in them. We look forward to continuing this great exchange between Georgian and American judges.

  On your second question, Parliament created these investigatory commissions as a mechanism to look into issues that are important to the people of Georgia, to look into issues of the day that require greater transparency, and more information to allow the citizens of Georgia to be better informed and also to hold people accountable and provide transparency on important issues. So, the reason this mechanism was created by Parliament was to provide citizens with more information. I think it’s a very useful technique that’s been a mechanism that’s used in many different Parliaments, including the US Congress. We would hope that Parliament and Members of Parliament would make full use of these tools that they have created in the interest of their citizens. 

  Question on Helsinki Commission’s call for Nika Gvaramia’s release

  Ambassador Degnan: The Helsinki Commission is a very well-respected organization that has a mandate from the United States Congress to monitor human rights around the world, including media freedom. They have been clear, as have many others, including our Embassy, on concerns about Mr. Gvaramia’s case, including the original charges, the timing of the charges, and then subsequently the conviction and decision. This is a letter from an organization that has been a friend of Georgia’s for a very long time, a strong supporter of Georgia in its democratic development and its progress toward European integration. Any decision regarding pardoning is solely up to President Zourabichvili, and I’m sure she takes all of the requests—such as those from the Helsinki Commission—into consideration in making her decisions. 

  Source: https://ge.usembassy.gov/ambassador-degnans-remarks-to-media-at-skills-week/

• STATEMENT FOR MEDIA

  The annual celebration of World Health Day on April 7 is a significant event for both the Turkmen people and all progressive mankind.

  This year, on April 7, the World Health Organization celebrates:

  75th Anniversary, founded on a collective initiative of the countries of the world in 1948 and aimed at promoting the health of people, maintaining security in the world and serving the interests of vulnerable groups so that everyone, wherever they are, has the opportunity to achieve the highest level health and well-being.

  The seventy-fifth anniversary of WHO is an occasion to remember the successes that have improved the quality of people's lives over the past seven decades. This year, it is also an opportunity to give impetus to action to address the pressing health problems of today and tomorrow.

  April 7, 2023 is held under the slogan "Health for all".

  At the same time, it is necessary to emphasize the following priorities of the World Health Organization, which are reflected in the strengthening of the multilateral cooperation of Turkmenistan with the states of the world and leading international structures in the field of healthcare:

  • Health for all means good health and a fulfilling life for everyone in a prosperous and sustainable world without war or conflict.

  • The right to health is one of the fundamental human rights.

  • Ensuring access to universal health coverage, financial protection and strengthening family and community well-being.

  Turkmenistan has been a member of the World Health Organization since 1992. Over the course of 31 years of joint cooperation, huge successes have been achieved aimed at improving the health of the population of Turkmenistan.

  The right to health is one of the fundamental human rights and means that everyone should have access to health care without experiencing financial hardship. This principle is one of the priorities of the state policy of Turkmenistan.

  During the years of independence, guided by the State Program "Saglyk" of the Hero-Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, a lot of work has been done to protect the health of the population, establish the principles of a healthy lifestyle, develop physical culture and mass sports. A network of modern medical institutions was created throughout the country – “Ene mähri” and emergency ambulance centers, multidisciplinary hospitals and sanatoriums, and pharmaceutical enterprises. All the necessary conditions have been created for improving the health of the population, preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases with modern innovative methods, increasing human life expectancy, and ensuring the availability of high-quality medical services.

  Many years of positive experience of cooperation with the World Health Organization and UN agencies is evidence of the successful implementation of a number of significant joint projects and programs in various priority areas of national health, and the success and outstanding achievements of Turkmenistan in ensuring public health are marked by international certificates and certificates of recognition of the eradication of dracunculiasis, eradication of poliomyelitis, as well as international awards for universal salt iodization, elimination of malaria, for leadership in the fortification of flour with iron and folic acid, a document confirming the absence of measles and rubella in Turkmenistan.

  WHO supports the position of Turkmenistan in addressing issues of maternal and child health by supporting the development of national strategies and action plans for child and adolescent health and reproductive health.

  Over the years of joint cooperation, the WHO Regional Office for Europe has also supported the promotion of Turkmenistan's initiatives at the international level, twice electing Turkmenistan to the Standing Committee of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe.

  WHO and Turkmenistan are successfully collaborating in the fight against TB to achieve a global end to the TB epidemic by 2035. Collaboration has been strengthened to combat antimicrobial resistance and strengthen the capacity of the public health laboratory service.

  Within the framework of cooperation, surveillance of infectious diseases has been strengthened and preventive measures have been introduced to prevent their spread, examples of which are the National Concept for Integrated Epidemiological Surveillance of Infectious Diseases, the National Immunization Program, and strengthening the routine immunization system.

  With the support of WHO, various activities are being carried out aimed at maintaining the status of the country as a “territory free from the circulation of wild polioviruses”.

  Joint initiatives agreed at a high level are being successfully implemented, namely, supporting the participation of Turkmenistan in a special program of the World Health Organization for the study of the coronavirus genome. Strengthened national capacity for genetic sequencing of viruses, including influenza and SARS-CoV-2. In February 2023, whole genome sequencing of 10 influenza virus samples was performed by National Laboratory Virologists and submitted to the Global Initiative to Share All Influenza Data (GISAID) platform. On July 4, 2022, a High-Level Sub-Regional Consultative Meeting was held in Ashgabat to promote the One Health concept for the countries of Central Asia.

  In Turkmenistan, the fight against non-communicable diseases is one of the main priorities, closely linking them with the implementation of the 2030 Global Development Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. The Second WHO European High-Level Conference “Time to Keep the Promise – Meeting the Challenges of Combating Noncommunicable Diseases to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in Europe”, which was held in Ashgabat in 2019, pushed the implementation of the commitments made at the UN High-Level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases, and also measures to support countries in their implementation. In 2024, Turkmenistan plans to hold the third high-level conference on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases in honor of 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Ashgabat Declaration on Noncommunicable Diseases. This is also the political commitment of Turkmenistan to maintain and strengthen a healthy lifestyle through the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.

  The effectiveness of national efforts and international partnerships in this direction was highly appreciated by all forum participants and, above all, by the World Health Organization and its Regional Office for Europe, with the presentation of a certificate of recognition by the World Health Organization for the country's outstanding contribution to the prevention of non-communicable diseases on behalf of the WHO Director-General, Mr.Tedros Ghebreyesus.

  Adopted by the National Strategy "Healthy Mother - Healthy Child - Healthy Future", the National Program for Improving the Immunity of the Population in Turkmenistan, the National Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases for 2021-2025 and the National Program for Turning Turkmenistan into a Tobacco-Free Country for 2022 -2025 years have significantly optimized the activities of the health care system.

  Particular importance is attached to the development of mass physical culture and sports, the Olympic movement, and relevant national programs are being successfully implemented aimed at improving primary health care, ensuring the provision of quality basic medical services, taking into account vulnerable groups of the population and based on the principles of justice, gender equality and respect for rights. human beings, promoting the health and well-being of all people at all ages.

  A modern infrastructure has been formed in the healthcare system. Medical centers, specialized clinics, sanatoriums equipped with innovative technologies have been built in the capital and in all velayats of the country. On this basis, great success has been achieved in the formation of an advanced sports and recreation infrastructure that meets international standards.

  The activities of the established charitable foundation to assist children in need of care named after Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov are aimed at addressing issues of protecting public health, in the field of motherhood and childhood. All this is evidence of a positive result in the modernization of the national healthcare system, improving the standard of living and well-being of every person - the highest value of the Turkmen society and state.

  Most of the State budget is directed to financing the social sphere, including reforming the healthcare and education systems.

  With the beginning of the development of a new type of coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and over the past years, Turkmenistan has received support from the WHO and UN agencies. Based on the guidelines of the WHO Strategic Plan for Preparedness and Response to COVID-19, the country approved and successfully implemented a joint Plan for Preparedness and Response of Turkmenistan for Acute Infectious Disease, focusing on the main areas of WHO COVID-19 activities related to prevention, treatment, diagnosis and vaccination of COVID-19.

  The ongoing program changes and reforms are an effective incentive for the further development of the healthcare system and the medical industry of independent and neutral Turkmenistan and lay the foundation for further cooperation in the field of healthcare.

  On World Health Day, Turkmenistan once again expresses its full support for the activities of the WHO, thanks the leadership and staff of the Organization for their selfless and professional work. Our country will continue to closely cooperate with the World Health Organization and is ready to continue to provide it with all possible assistance.

  Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan

• US labels Foreign Agents bill setback to Georgia's aspirations, US ability to be Georgians' partners

  “We see a draft piece of legislation that would be a tremendous setback. This would be a setback to the aspirations of the people of Georgia; it would be a setback to the ability of the United States to continue to be a partner for the people of Georgia,” Ned Price, US Department spokesperson stated at the briefing.

  Ned Price commented on the People’s Power-tabled bill on the Transparency of Foreign Influence that the Parliament of Georgia adopted on March 7th in its first reading.

  According to the spokesperson, “anyone who is voting for this draft legislation would be responsible in part for jeopardizing those very Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the Georgian people.

  “You asked about the feeling here. The feeling here is one of deep concern. You have heard us express that sentiment consistently in recent days. It is a feeling of deep concern because of the potential implications of this draft law. This draft law would strike at some of the very rights that are central to the aspirations of the people of Georgia for a consolidated democracy, for Euro-Atlantic integration, and for a brighter future. It would stigmatize and silence independent voices and citizens of Georgia who wish to do nothing more than work together to build a brighter future, a future that is integrated with Europe, a future that is democratic and free, where Georgia is an independent and sovereign country,” Ned Price has said.

  The spokesperson went on to say that the US was “deeply concerned and troubled, of course, for what this could mean for the people of Georgia.”

  “We are so deeply concerned and troubled, of course, for what this could mean for the people of Georgia, but also because the United States has been a partner to Georgia over the course of recent decades. Ever since Georgia declared its independence, the United States has been right there with it supporting the aspirations of the Georgian people. And at the earliest days of Georgia’s independence, those aspirations were nascent. They were nothing more than an idea in some cases.

  Over the course of ensuing decades, the people of Georgia have worked to realize those aspirations. They have made tremendous progress in becoming the democracy that they sought from those earliest days, in integrating Georgia into the Euro-Atlantic community and ensuring that Georgia stays on that path.

  Now, however, we see a draft piece of legislation that would be a tremendous setback. This would be a setback to the aspirations of the people of Georgia; it would be a setback to the ability of the United States to continue to be a partner for the people of Georgia. I made this point yesterday, I think it was, but anyone who is voting for this draft legislation would be responsible in part for jeopardizing those very Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the Georgian people. We don’t wish to see that happen. Beyond the United States, it is the EU, the UN, of course most importantly the Georgian people, Georgian civil society groups – all of them have issued strong statements of concern about this draft legislation,” Ned Price stated.

  The State Department spokesperson also stated that “the best counterexample is the United States partnership with Georgia,” as the United States are concerned, that partnership could be – at least in part – jeopardized should a law like this move forward.

  “The best example is the counterexample. It is an example of the type of partnership that the United States Government can have with people and countries that aspire to continue down that path of democracy, of democratic reform, of integration with Europe and the broader Euro-Atlantic region. I think the best counterexample is the United States partnership with Georgia, if you want to look at what that partnership can look like, what that partnership can feel like, and how, as we are concerned, that partnership could be – at least in part – jeopardized should a law like this move forward.

  Ultimately, these are going to be the decisions of the Georgian people and the Georgian Government. It is our strong hope that the Georgian Government listens to the Georgian people. The Georgian people are speaking with a clear voice. Right now, we’re seeing some of those clear voices, those loud voices drowned out by tear gas, by efforts to suppress those – that peaceful exercise of freedom of assembly. That’s of concern to us. But ultimately, we think it’s important that governments around the world, including, of course, the government in Tbilisi, listens to its people,” Price stated.

  Alluding to a question whether “there is anything that prevents the United States Government from sanctioning Mr. Ivanishvili, “who is obviously bringing up this sort of legislations,” Ned Price stated: “I don’t speak to specific individuals or entities who may be subject to U.S. or other sanctions, but we have a number of tools within our purview that would allow us to hold accountable anyone in any country around the world who is responsible for the suppression of what would otherwise be a universal human right. There are authorities that are written into various laws, into executive orders that we will look at closely in this context, as we do in any context, to hold to account those who may run afoul of what the Georgian people want and, most importantly, what the Georgian people expect and deserve in terms of their universal rights.”

  Source: https://1tv.ge/lang/en/news/us-labels-foreign-agents-bill-setback-to-georgias-aspirations-us-ability-to-be-georgians-partners/