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• JOINT STATEMENT FOLLOWING THE 4TH MEETING OF SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVES AND ENVOYS FOR AFGHANISTAN IN THE "CA-EU" FORMAT IN ASHGABAT

  Joint Statement

  by Special Representatives and Special Envoys for Afghanistan of the European Union, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan and the EU Special Representative for Central Asia

  following the meeting on 26 May 2023 in Ashgabat

  The fourth meeting in the EU and Central Asia Special Representatives and Special Envoys for Afghanistan and the EU Special Representative for Central Asia format was held on 25-26 May in Ashgabat. It provided an opportunity for an in-depth exchange on developments and economic situation in Afghanistan, and allowed to discuss continued cooperation in assisting the people of Afghanistan and intensification of cooperation in areas of common interest. During the meeting they also had an exchange with UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, Head of UNAMA  Roza Otunbayeva and via video link with the World Bank Country Director for Afghanistan, Melinda Good, as well as World Bank Country Director for Kazakhstan, Andrei Mikhnev.

  The Special Representatives and Envoys

  1. Reaffirmed their strong commitment to the people of Afghanistan and to seeing Afghanistan develop into a stable, peaceful and prosperous country with long-term prospects for lasting peace.
  2. Recalled and reconfirmed principles and expectations expressed in previous statements following discussions in this format in Tashkent, Almaty and Brussels, including regarding the human rights and security situation.  
  3. Underlined the importance of the establishment of an inclusive and representative government and of upholding civil, political, social economic and cultural rights of all Afghans.
  4. Recalled the concerns expressed in UN Security Council Resolution 2681 (2023) at the increasing erosion of human rights and fundamental freedoms and the dire economic and humanitarian situation and recognised the efforts of the international community to continue assisting the people of Afghanistan in a principled manner and in accordance with international law and universally recognized norms and principles, despite difficult circumstances.
  5. Urged the Taliban to lift all bans on Afghan girls and women restricting their rights to education, work and participation in public life. These bans – beyond being serious human rights violations – are having detrimental effects on the ability of the international community to deliver humanitarian aid to the Afghan people, and need to be lifted for the Afghan economy to prosper, and ultimately for Afghanistan to achieve long-term stability and peace.
  6. Discussed prospects and challenges for economic stabilization and recovery of Afghanistan, noting the importance of favourable conditions for economic activity, the financial and banking sector and the restoration of social-economic infrastructure in Afghanistan being created, which would allow for further assistance by the international community.
  7. The participants called on the Taliban to prevent the Afghan territory from being used as a safe haven for hosting, planning, training, financing or exporting terrorism and violent extremism to other countries.
  8. Negative spill-over effects from Afghanistan, such as terrorism, violent extremism, drug trafficking and other illicit crossborder activities, will negatively impact the region. Also, the use of shared natural resources has to take the needs of all neighbours into account. Participants welcomed the efforts by the regional countries and organisations, as well as international partners, to prevent and address such developments.
  9. Given the shared goal of wanting to see peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region, the participants highlighted the need for continued dialogue and cooperation among the participants of this format and the wider international community.
  10. The participants agreed to continue meeting in this regional format on a regular basis at alternating venues as a platform for consultation, coordination and cooperation, and supported the proposal to hold the next meeting in the autumn.
• A MEETING OF SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVES FOR AFGHANISTAN IN THE "CA-EU" FORMAT WAS HELD AT THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF TURKMENISTAN

  On May 26, 2023, the fourth meeting of the EU and Central Asia Special Representatives and Special Envoys for Afghanistan was held in the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan. The forum was attended by special representatives and special envoys of the EU, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for Afghanistan and the EU Special Representative for Central Asia, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan R.Otunbayeva, the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, the Consuls General of Turkmenistan in Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif. The directors of the World Bank branches in Afghanistan and Kazakhstan have also participated via videoconference.

  During the meeting, a detailed exchange of views took place on priority issues of regional security and development, as well as problems related to the socio-economic situation in Afghanistan.

  It was noted that meetings of special representatives in this format have become regular and serve as a positive platform for developing approaches to ensuring peace and security in Afghanistan.

  The current meeting provided an opportunity for an in-depth exchange of information on events and the economic situation in Afghanistan, as well as an opportunity to discuss further cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

  The parties expressed their firm commitment to turning Afghanistan into a stable, peaceful and prosperous country and recognized the efforts of the international community to continue to provide assistance to the people of Afghanistan.

  During the meeting, the prospects for economic stabilization and recovery of Afghanistan were discussed, the importance of creating favorable conditions for economic activity, the financial and banking sector and the restoration of the socio-economic infrastructure in Afghanistan was noted.

  The participants of the meeting stressed the need to continue dialogue and cooperation within the framework of the "Central Asia - European Union" format and expressed a common opinion that in order to stabilize the political, economic and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, a broad consolidation of the international community is necessary - the states of the world, primarily the Central Asian region, as well as authoritative international structures.

  Interest was also expressed in close cooperation to implement of joint projects related to the reconstruction of Afghanistan and the integration of the country into the system of global relations.

  As a result of the meeting, a Joint Statement was adopted.

• Delegation from Turkmenistan visited Korneli Kekelidze Georgian National Center of Manuscripts

  As part of the visit of the Turkmen delegation to Georgia to participate in the conference dedicated to the 300^th anniversary of Magtymguly Pyragy, the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Georgia organized an introductory visit of representatives of Magtymguly National Institute of language, literature and manuscripts of the Academy of Science of Turkmenistan to Korneli Kekelidze Georgian National Manuscripts Center on May 18, 2023.

  The guests were familiarized with the stored in the center’s archives historical manuscripts, collections of historical documents published in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, which are of historical value.

  During the visit, a meeting was also held with the Director of the Center, Zaza Abashidze, at which issues of further cooperation between Magtymguly National Institute of language, literature and manuscripts of the Academy of Science of Turkmenistan and Korneli Kekelidze Georgian National Center of Manuscripts were discussed.

           The parties noted that the establishment of direct contacts between scientists of the two countries, deepening scientific cooperation, holding joint events at the international level will contribute to strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties between the two peoples.

• CONFERENCE "MAGTYMGULY FRAGI - THE SOUL OF THE TURKMEN PEOPLE" WAS HELD IN GEORGIA

  On May 17, 2023, the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Georgia, together with the National Academy of Sciences of Georgia, held a conference "Magtymguly Fragi - the soul of the Turkmen people", dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the great Turkmen poet Magtymguly Fragi.

  The event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, the National Academy of Sciences of Georgia, the Georgian National Center for Manuscripts named after Korneli Kekelidze, higher educational institutions, diplomatic missions and representative offices of international organizations accredited in Georgia, as well as representatives of the National Institute of Language, Literature and Manuscripts named after Magtymguly Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan.

  The speakers noted that the work of the great humanist poet Magtymguly Fragi, which had a significant impact on the development of not only literature, but also the spiritual life of the peoples of the East, was translated into the languages of many peoples of the world and is the property of world culture.

  During the conference, it was also emphasized that the preparation at the international level for the 300th anniversary of the Turkmen poet-philosopher confirms that the creative heritage of the great Master of the Word is the property of all humankind.

  The events planned for the anniversary of Magtymguly will contribute to the further study and wide popularization of the richest literary heritage of the great Turkmen poet-philosopher in the world.

• THE ROLE OF PUNCTUATION IN SENTENCE FORMATION

  Suddenly one day you have to produce something in writing. Is writing something you enjoy? Then you may not find it complicated.

  But if you really don’t like writing at all, and you’re faced with having to write something. An advertisement maybe? A report?  Discursive writing? Some family history material? How will you deal with it?

  Punctuation will actually help you to say what you want to say, and help you say it clearly. This article deals with everyday punctuation for everyday writing.

  In it you’ll find the basics only.

    The importance of and rules of punctuation vary from language to language. In English, punctuation is essential to allow the reader to understand the writer's meaning.

             Which of these do you think was the writer's real intention?

  • My interests include cooking dogs and swimming.
  • My interests include cooking, dogs and swimming.

    With no punctuation, a sentence is hard to understand.

   

         What is Punctuation in English? - Definition and Meaning

  Larger dictionaries and English style guides give different definition on punctuation.

  Punctuation means the separation of words with spaces or punctuation marks to ensure the intended meaning of a sentence is understood. Punctuation marks are symbols that are used to aid the clarity and comprehension of written language.

  Punctuation means breaking apart a piece of text using spaces and symbols known as punctuation marks. Punctuation is an essential part of writing because it helps to make a piece of text easier for a reader to understand.

  Punctuation is placed in text to make meaning clear and to make reading easier.

  Punctuation is the system of symbols that we use to separate written sentences and parts of sentences, and to make their meaning clear. Each symbol is called a "punctuation mark".

  What are the functions of the punctuation marks?

  Punctuation is placed in text to make meaning clear and to make reading easier. The various punctuation marks perform four functions:

  1. they separate (a period separates sentences)

  2. group or enclose (parentheses enclose extraneous information

  3. connect ( a hyphen connects a unit modifier)

  4. impart meaning (a question mark may make an otherwise declarative sentence interrogative).

  Punctuation marks

  There are fourteen basic punctuation marks in English grammar. These include the full stop, comma, exclamation point, question mark, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, parenthesis, bracket, braces, ellipsis, quotation mark and apostrophe.

  1. Apostrophe ('): An apostrophe is used as a substitute for a missing letter or letters in a word (cannot = can't), to show the possessive case(Ann's room), and in the plural of letters, some numbers and abbreviations.
  2. Colon ( : ): A colon is used before a list or quote; it’s used to separate hours and minutes. For instance, 'The time is 2:15'. It’s also used to separate elements of a mathematical ratio. Another example would be 'The ratio of girls to boys is 3:2.'
  3. Comma ( , ): A comma is used to separate phrases or items in a list. For example, 'she bought milk, eggs, and bread'.
  4. Dash ( — ): A dash is used to separate parts of a sentence. The dash is also known as an "em dash" because it is the length of a printed letter m — it is longer than a hyphen.
  5. Ellipsis (...): An ellipsis (three dots) indicates that part of the text has been intentionally left out. For instance, '0, 2, 4, ... , 100'
  6. Exclamation mark ( ! ): An exclamation point is used to show excitement or emphasis. For example, 'It is cold!'
  7. Hyphen ( - ): A hyphen is used between parts of a compound word or name. It is also used to split a word by syllables to fit on a line of text. For instance, 'The sixteen-year-old girl is a full-time student'.
  8. Parentheses ( ): Parentheses are curved lines used to separate explanations or qualifying statements within a sentence (each one of the curved lines is called a parenthesis). The part in the parentheses is called a parenthetical remark.This sentence (like others on this page) contains a parenthetical remark.
  9. Full stop ( . ): A full stop is used to note the end of a declarative sentence. For example, 'I see the house.'
  10. Question mark ( ? ): A question mark is used at the end of a question.
      For instance, When are we going?
  11. Speech mark ( " ): Speech marks are used at the beginning and end of a phrase to show that it is being written exactly as it was originally said or written. She said, "Let's eat."
  12. Semicolon ( ; ): A semicolon separates two independent clauses in a compound sentence. A semicolon is also used to separate items in a series (where commas are already in use). Class was cancelled today; Mr. Smith was at home sick.
  13. Brackets ([ ]): Brackets are slightly different from parentheses, and they are used to show additional, technical information.

  Test Your Understanding in Punctuation

  Put punctuation marks where necessary

  1. These are my favorite sports  hockey  basketball and tennis.

  2. My uncle can make animals out of balloons  he’s going to teach me how to do it.

  3. The shopping we need  a pound of apples  chocolate cake  beer and wine  toilet rolls.

  4. What are you doing  Mom asked.

  5.I couldn’t believe my eyes

  6. We were feeling quite cheerful and enjoying the picnic  until it started to rain!

  7. These are my friends  Ellie  Rohan  and Sarah.

  8.  What a pity

   9. “We’ve got water and some fruit, so what else do we need for our picnic”

  10.  There was no arguing with her she was set in her opinion.

  Given below are the answers to the above exercise. Find out if you have identified the punctuation marks correctly.

  1. These are my favorite sports: hockey, basketball, and tennis.

  2. My uncle can make animals out of balloons; he’s going to teach me how to do it.

  3. The shopping we need: a pound of apples; chocolate cake; beer and wine; toilet rolls.

  4. “What are you doing?” Mom asked.

  5.I couldn’t believe my eyes!

  6. We were feeling quite cheerful and enjoying the picnic—until it started to rain!

  7. These are my friends: Ellie, Rohan, and Sarah.

  8.  What a pity!

   9. “We’ve got water and some fruit, so ... what else do we need for our picnic?”

  10. There was no arguing with her—she was set in her opinion.

  REFERENCES:

  1. Visual Guide to Grammar and Punctuation.
  2. The briefest English grammar and punctuation guide ever! R. Colman
  3. Grammar, Punctuation and Capitalization. Mary K. McCaskill

       4.     https://www.twinkl.nl/teaching-wiki/punctuation

  Jemal Atamuradova

  Instructor of Magtymguly Turkmen State University,

  Ashgabat, Turkmenistan