Turkmenistan

1. The National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov had a telephone conversation with the head of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko. The interlocutors positively assessed the development of Turkmen-Russian relations in 2023. There was an intensification of cooperation in the political, trade, economic and humanitarian spheres. Among the priorities of the partnership, the parties highlighted trade and economic cooperation and interaction in the socio-cultural sphere.

2. President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed a resolution approving the list of exhibitions, fairs, conferences and festivals scheduled to be held by ministries and departments in 2024, as well as the composition of the organizing commission for their holding. According to the document, ministries and departments are instructed to ensure that relevant activities are carried out at a high organizational level.

3. On the eve of the New Year holiday, young Turkmen figure skaters delighted the residents and guests of Ashgabat with a bright show program. The entire team of figure skaters, from six to 17 years old, took to the ice stage of the Winter Sports Sports Complex. The main entertainers of the holiday were Father Frost and Snow Maiden. With the wave of their magic wand, fairy-tale characters appeared on the ice. The skaters performed their numbers to national Turkmen music and works from the treasury of world musical classics. New Year's songs were sung in different languages of the world.

4. New autodromes will be built in the Geokdepe etrap of the Ahal velayat, as well as in the cities of Balkanabat, Dashoguz, Turkmenabat and Mary. In connection with the construction of new facilities, vehicles, electronic training equipment and other materials necessary to equip the race tracks are being purchased. This was reported by the “Turkmenawtoulaglary” Agency.

5. The Turkmen delegation led by Minister of Finance and Economy Serdar Jorayev discussed economic cooperation with the EU within the framework of the 22nd meeting of the joint committee of Turkmenistan and the European Union in Brussels. One of the main topics of the negotiations was the macroeconomic situation in Turkmenistan in the context of the country’s efforts to join the World Trade Organization. In addition, issues of gas exports, Ashgabat’s initiatives to reduce methane emissions, as well as the development of renewable energy sources were discussed.

World

6. The Parliament of Kyrgyzstan approved a bill to change the shape of the rays on the country's national flag. In accordance with the new law, wave-shaped beams will be replaced with straight ones. The initiators of the bill explained that many people associate the wavy rays with sunflowers, which are not the main agricultural crop of the country. At the same time, direct rays, according to deputies, are more similar to the rays of the sun.

7. Chinese paper manufacturing company Dongpo Paper has decided to replace the traditional annual bonus with monthly bonuses based on the number of kilometers employees run. The new bonus system is based on employees receiving a full bonus for driving 50 kilometers per month. For 40 kilometers the premium is 60%, for 30 kilometers - 30%, and for 100 kilometers - 130% of the premium. Running can be partially replaced by mountain climbing or race walking. The results are recorded using mobile applications installed on employee smartphones.

Sport

8. The final of the Turkmenistan Futsal Cup was held in Ashgabat. The “Kopetdag” and “Gara Altyn” teams competed for the main trophy. The game was held at the sports complex of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports and ended with a score of 3:0 in favor of “Gara Altyn”.

9. On Friday, Moscow will host the next tournament of the popular boxing promotion Pravda Boxing. The competition will be held at the International Boxing Center in “Luzhniki”. Among the tournament participants are famous boxers from different countries. In the middleweight division, an interesting confrontation is expected between the representative of Turkmenistan Yunus Kurbanov and the Russian Sergey Seliverstov. For Kurbanov, this fight will be his second appearance at Pravda Boxing tournaments. In his debut match, he defeated Dmitry Andreev.