On 5 October 2022, the Korean Embassy in Ashgabat celebrated the 4355th anniversary of the National Foundation Day.
Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Batyr Atdayev attended the celebration on behalf of the Government of Turkmenistan.
“This year is the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea and Turkmenistan. During these 30 years, we have strengthened and deepened our bilateral relations through close high-level and people-to-people exchanges”, said Shin Sung-chul, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Ashgabat, in his welcoming speech.
Taking this opportunity, the envoy congratulated the leadership and people of Turkmenistan on the 31st anniversary of the country’s independence.
“Turkmenistan has contributed to international peace and security as a permanent neutral state and the corridor of international transport and logistics for the last 31 years. We hope to work together with Turkmenistan on issues of our common interest for mankind”, the ambassador stressed.
According to the diplomat, over the past decade, Turkmen-Korean cooperation in economic, industrial sectors has increased substantially through building energy plants and infrastructure by Korean companies in Turkmenistan.
“This year, we have also witnessed the inauguration of new presidents of our two countries.
I am sure our new governments will enhance our close ties to a higher level. In this context, the summit-level visits of both countries should be realized in the near future”, said diplomat.
Currently, the countries are discussing partnership opportunities in various fields, such as the construction of power plants and infrastructure, transport, textile industry, seawater desalination, forestry and defense industry, he added.
Speaking about the upcoming cooperation plans, the ambassador said that the 15th Forum of Cooperation between the Republic of Korea and Central Asia, at the level of foreign ministers of the six countries, will be held in Busan on 25 October this year. “Minister Rashid Meredov will visit Korea to participate in the forum, we hope that this event will serve as an opportunity for bilateral exchanges at the highest level,” the diplomat said.
In addition, a Week of Korean Culture in Turkmenistan is scheduled for November.
Touching upon the topic of Turkmen-Korean humanitarian relations, Shin Sung-chul highlighted several areas of cooperation in the field of education and healthcare.
Thus, since September 2020, , Vocational Training Institute for Gas Industry has been operating in Turkmenistan. “Next spring, we are expecting the first 240 graduates from the Vocational Training Institute”, the ambassador said, expressing confidence that they will make a great contribution to the development of the Turkmen economy.
Information Access Center was completed in February this year in Ashgabat by Korean support, and Textile Industry Technology Sharing Seminar is held regularly on the annual basis.
The Ambassador spoke about the fruitful cooperation between the two countries during the pandemic. “The Korean government has supported Turkmenistan with medication and sanitary equipment. Public-private cooperation were also carried out, with our Kyungbuk University sharing our system of countering COVID-19 pandemic to the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan over a video conference”, he recalled.
Further, the ambassador noted the special interest that the Turkmen youth shows in Korean culture. “Korean culture – currently represented by K-pop, Korean movies and dramas – is gaining widespread popularity across the world and Turkmenistan is not an exception”, he underlined.
According to the diplomat, the number of students of the King Sejong Institute in Ashgabat has tripled since its foundation in 2019. This year, for the first time, a class was created for advanced level students. The number of graduates of the Korean language department of the Azadi Turkmen National Institute is reaching its 100th graduate milestone.
Similarly, there has been a fourfold increase in the number of students under the Korean language program at secondary school No. 88 in Ashgabat.
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Every year on 3 October, South Korea celebrates one of the main public holidays — the National Foundation Day.
Koreans call this day “Gaecheonjeol”, which literally means the day the sky opened. This day Korean people have founded their first state in year 2,333 BC. Its ruling principles were Hongik Ingan and Jaesae Ewha.
Hongik Ingan means ‘to broadly benefit the human world’, and Jaesae Ewha is translated as ‘to rule the world with natural laws and universal virtue’.
Here are some pictures from the event:
///nCa, 7 October 2022