Turkmenistan begins construction of the first stage of the medical cluster of the city of Arkadag, Turkmenistan will purchase 700 buses of the Chinese brand Yutong, Turkmen citizens will be able to travel to Russia and Belarus with a single visa and other news

Turkmenistan

1. Turkmenistan is starting construction of the first stage of the medical cluster in the city of Arkadag. The corresponding decree was signed by the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov. In accordance with the document, the State Committee for Construction of the City of Arkadag under the President of Turkmenistan is allowed to conclude contracts with local and foreign enterprises for the design and construction of relevant buildings and structures, as well as the improvement of adjacent territories. According to the Decree, construction work will begin in January 2025. It is prescribed to hand over the buildings and structures with full readiness for operation in January 2027.

2. Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed a decree allowing the “Turkmenawtotransport” Agency to sign a contract with the Chinese company Yutong Bus for the purchase of 700 buses.

3. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan presented a Work Plan for the current year, which includes measures to strengthen cooperation with the countries of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific region and America. The document outlines measures to organize bilateral visits, political consultations and meetings, as well as other events in various areas of interaction. The plan includes 10 chapters covering organizational issues, international economic cooperation, legal issues and digital diplomacy.

4. The State Symphony Orchestra of Turkmenistan performed iconic compositions from Indian films. The event was held at the Mukam Palace of the State Cultural Center with the support of the Embassy of India and the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan. Bollywood has long been a cultural phenomenon that extends far beyond India. Indian cinema occupies a special place in the hearts of the people of Turkmenistan, where love for it arose in the late fifties of the twentieth century. The concert program presented in Ashgabat became a living confirmation of this cultural connection. It included 21 musical pieces from iconic Indian films of different eras.

5. The Chinese Embassy in Turkmenistan will suspend accepting applications for documents for a week due to the New Year. The announcement of the holidays from January 28 to February 4 appeared on the social media page of the Chinese diplomatic mission. In 2025, the New Year in China will be celebrated on January 29.

6. Russian airline S7 will launch daily flights on the Moscow-Ashgabat route from January 15, 2025. The transition to daily flights will be carried out in stages. From January 9, the airline will add two additional flights on Mondays and Thursdays to the existing schedule, and a week later, the flights will become daily.

World

7. Popular social video platform TikTok may cease operations in the United States on January 19. This decision will be made if the Supreme Court enacts legislation requiring the Chinese platform to sell its business to a third party and sever ties with parent company ByteDance. The company has already stated its unwillingness to sell the app.

8. A UK IT specialist has failed in a court bid to obtain permission to search for a hard drive containing cryptocurrency at a Newport municipal landfill. The story began in 2013, when the girlfriend of 39-year-old James Howells inadvertently threw away a hard drive containing 8000 bitcoins. Today, the value of these digital assets is estimated at around 750 million USD. Finding the drive would require a large-scale excavation, processing about 100 thousand tons of garbage.

Sport

9. Former footballer of the national team of Turkmenistan Maxim Belykh joined the coaching staff of the Premier League club of Kyrgyzstan "Ozgon" as a physical training coach.

10. The Football Federation of Turkmenistan discussed the prospects for cooperation with the German Football Association. During the video conference, the parties discussed the possibilities of developing cooperation in the field of youth football and coaching education. Particular attention was paid to the prospects for introducing the best practices of German football in Turkmenistan.

11. On January 11, the “Turkmenistan Sport” TV channel will broadcast live two football matches from the Italian and German championships. The evening broadcast program includes the Italian Serie A match between “Udinese” and “Atalanta”, starting at 19:00. Then, at 22:30, the German Bundesliga game will be shown, in which “Borussia Mönchengladbach” will meet “Bayern”.