Today, an event was held in Ashgabat dedicated to honoring the director of the French Institute in Turkmenistan, Roman Gouverné, who completed his mission in Ashgabat and is leaving for France tomorrow.

Partners and friends of the French Institute and the French Embassy in Turkmenistan were invited to the celebration.

The French Ambassador Philippe Merlin addressed the audience. In his speech, he emphasized the role of Roman Gouverné in the development of the Institute since his arrival in Turkmenistan in late 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 restrictions. Thanks to his active work, the Institute moved to another, more spacious building the following year, where the Madam Guitart cafe, a small cinema, and the “Nadar Gallery” exhibition space also opened.

All eight classrooms are equipped with digital, interactive and networked equipment, offering teachers and students the best of modern technology. Today, the classrooms bear the names of great figures who linked France and Turkmenistan, from Jules Verne to François Mitterrand.

It is safe to say that the Francophonie Weeks, previously held annually within the Embassy, have now acquired a national dimension. Since 2021, educational cooperation has taken on many other forms, such as inviting young French-speaking readers to universities and schools, integrating DELF-DALF into the work of the country's French faculties (through a unique regional program), sending teachers to France for training, and providing resources to schools.

All these activities have led to a 50% increase in the number of students and teachers in the education system of Turkmenistan: now it is 22 000. This was the basis for the signing of two specific intergovernmental agreements: the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Education (2023 in Paris) and the Roadmap for 2025-2026 on Educational and University Cooperation (5 May 2025, on the occasion of the official visit to France of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov).

Since 2022, the Institute has set itself the task of introducing new cultural trends on the local scene:

The first event to discuss ideas – the Night of Ideas;

The first event in the field of contemporary art with a major Franco-German exhibition of video installations at the National Academy of Fine Arts,

The first event in the field of contemporary dance and digital art with the show Myselves in partnership with the EU Delegation in Ashgabat.

Since 2023, the Institute has begun creative collaborations on an unprecedented scale:

the first international co-production, during which the world premiere of a concerto for voice by a French composer, a German artist and the National Symphony Orchestra took place in Ashgabat;

in 2024, the Baroque-Bakhshi tour was organized - a dialogue of ancient music in nine cities of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Türkiye;

in the spring of 2025 - the creation of the choreographic and digital show RITUALS in Ashgabat by French, Italian and Turkmen artists - the first cultural project in Turkmenistan financed within the framework of the European competition EUNIC.

The Ambassador also introduced the new director of the French Institute in Ashgabat, Vincent Lorenzini, who will take up his post on September 1.