The House of Austria will open in Turkmenistan in 2025. The event, initiated by the head of the Turkmen-Austrian Society, Neda Berger, will be timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s permanent neutrality and the 70th anniversary of Austria’s permanent neutrality.
The statement came during a meeting on Tuesday, 14 May, between President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Neda Berger, who arrived in Ashgabat to participate in cultural events dedicated to the 300th anniversary of Magtymguly Fragi.
During the meeting, the current state of Turkmen-Austrian cultural and humanitarian ties was discussed.
The President called Neda Berger an old and true friend of Turkmenistan. “Over the years, you have been actively participating in various festivities held in our country, consistently contributing to the development of interstate relations,” he said.
In this regard, the importance of cultural events held in close cooperation with the Turkmen-Austrian Society was emphasized. These are, first of all, concerts of the Turkmen-Austrian Symphony Orchestra “Galkynysh”, created 15 years ago on the initiative of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Viennese balls, etc.
The issue of holding the sixth Vienna Ball in Turkmenistan this year was also discussed.
Meeting with the National Leader of the Turkmen people
Neda Berger was received by the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
He highly appreciated the great work carried out by Neda Berger to establish close business contacts in the field of culture, art and the media between Turkmenistan and Austria.
In turn, Berger expressed gratitude to Arkadag Berdimuhamedov for an invaluable anniversary gift – a book of her poems in four languages (Russian, Turkmen, German and English) with an introduction by Arkadag. The book commends all the implemented joint projects.
The Turkmen-Austrian Society has a rich history dating back 16 years. Its founding coincided with the first official visit to Austria by Turkmenistan’s then-President, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. The Society fosters cross-cultural understanding by publishing informative materials in Russian, English, and German, reaching a global audience in over 30 countries.
As the head of the Turkmen-Austrian Society noted, there is still a lot of work ahead, including the implementation of the initiative to establish the House of Austria in Ashgabat next year.
Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov thanked the Austrian side for supporting Turkmenistan’s initiative to declare 2025 the International Year of Peace and Trust.
At the meeting, special attention was paid to the importance of strengthening bilateral cultural and humanitarian ties. ///nCa, 15 May 2024