President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov received regular congratulations on the occasion of the National Spring Holiday – the International Day of Novruz and the beginning of the blessed month of Oraza, TDH reports.

"On behalf of the people of Georgia and on my own behalf, I cordially congratulate you on the holiday of the onset of spring – Novruz.

In these bright days, I express confidence that important steps will be taken to strengthen friendly relations between our countries.

Your Excellency, with deep respect, I wish you success in your activities, and peace and prosperity to the people of Turkmenistan," the message of the President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili reads.

"On behalf of the International Organization of Turkic Culture and on my own behalf, I cordially congratulate Your Excellency and the entire people of Turkmenistan on the occasion of the Novruz holiday.

International Novruz Day is a symbol of friendship, brotherhood, peace and cohesion, a herald of abundance when nature begins to revive in spring.

The Novruz holiday is an ancient tradition of the Turkic peoples, bringing love, tranquility, peace and health to our countries.

I wish that this holiday will bring you happiness.

Taking this opportunity, I once again express my deep respect to you," Sultan Raev, Secretary General of the International Organization of Turkic Culture, addresses congratulations.

"On my own behalf and on behalf of the residents of the Autonomous Territorial Formation of Gagauzia of the Republic of Moldova, I congratulate you and all residents of Turkmenistan on the International Holiday of Novruz!

Novruz, being a messenger of the rebirth of nature, renewal and creation, embodied universal human values – peacefulness and humanism. It is this wonderful holiday that symbolizes the beginning of a new, kind and bright future.

Sincerely congratulating you on the wonderful national holiday – Novruz, I wish you good health, happiness, prosperity and a peaceful sky. May spring bring warmth and joy, and the holiday will be filled with pleasant memories, friendly communication and spiritual harmony.

Taking this opportunity, dear Mr. President, I testify to the assurances of high respect for you," says the congratulation of the head of the autonomous territorial entity of Gagauzia of the Republic of Moldova Evgenia Gutsul.

"On the occasion of the holy month of Oraz, I am pleased to express my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes," said Faisal bin Nasser bin Hamad Al Thani, a member of the ruling family of the State of Qatar.

"On behalf of the Government and people of Afghanistan, I cordially congratulate Your Excellency and the people of Turkmenistan on the occasion of the blessed month of Oraz.

I pray to the Almighty to accept the prayers and sadaqah of all Muslims of the world on these holy days, for their happiness, unity and well-being.

I pray to God to send good health to Your Excellency, and well–being and prosperity to the fraternal people of Turkmenistan," Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Afghanistan Alhaj Molla Mohammad Hassan Akhund addresses congratulations.

In a conversation with the director of the Ch. Aytmatov Institute of Language and Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan A. Akmataliev, Ambassador of Turkmenistan N. Golliev discussed cooperation in academic and scientific areas.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, the organization of joint events in Kyrgyzstan has been considered as part of the announcement of 2024 as the Year of “The Fount of the Mind of Magtymguly Fragi”, dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the great Turkmen poet.

The Director of the Institute, taking the opportunity, expressed gratitude to the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for the high organization of the 15th meeting of the Council of Elders of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Ashgabat, the source notes.

The last quarter-finalist of the European Champions League was the Spanish football club “Atletico”, who beat the Italian “Inter” in the 1/8 finals.

The first match of the teams ended with a victory for the Milanese with a score of 1:0, main time and two additional halves of the return game ended with a score of 2:1 in favor of the Madrid team.

Federico Dimarco scored for “Inter” (33rd minute), while Antoine Griezmann (35th) and Memphis Depay (87th) scored for “Atletico”. In the penalty shootout, the Spanish team was stronger with a score of 3:2.

In another match of the day, the German “Borussia” Dortmund beat the Dutch PSV at home with a score of 2:0. The goals were scored by Jadon Sancho (3rd minute) and Marco Reus (90+5). The first meeting ended with a score of 1:1. Previously, the English “Arsenal” and “Manchester City”, the Spanish “Barcelona” and “Real Madrid”, the German “Bayern” Munich and the French “PSG” reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

The draw for the quarter-finals will be held on March 15. The first legs will be played on April 9 and 10, the return matches on April 16 and 17. The Champions League final will be held on June 1 at “Wembley” stadium in London.

34 years old Turkmen mixed martial arts fighter Dovletjan Yagshimuradov (21-7-1) will hold his debut fight in the regular season of the PFL-2024 league. His opponent will be Slovenian Jakob Nedoh (8-1).

The light heavyweight fight between Yagshimuradov and Nedoh will be held on April 12 in Las Vegas, Nevada (USA). All participants in the new PFL-2024 season will compete in the Grand Prix for the championship belt and the main prize of 1 million USD.

It is worth noting that in his last fight at the Bellator 300 tournament in California, Yagshimuradov defeated the Polish fighter Maciej Rozanski.

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is America's leading mixed martial arts fighting organization.

In November 2023, PFL bought the rights to the Bellator organization, for which Dovletjan Yagshimuradov has competed since April 2021. Following the merger, PFL founder Don Davis announced that all former Bellator fighters would be on the PFL roster. They will be able to participate in league tournaments and other events of the organization.

On March 2-3, a tournament for young big racket masters will be held on the courts of the Ashgabat Tennis Academy, timed to coincide with the celebration of World Tennis Day, reports the publication “Turkmenistan: Golden Age”.

Boys and girls under 8 years of age will take part in the competition. The organizers were the Tennis Federation of Turkmenistan and the Ashgabat Tennis Academy.

The purpose of the tournament is to popularize a healthy lifestyle and attract children to play tennis.

World Tennis Day has been celebrated since 2013 at the initiative of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). It is held annually on the first Monday of March. This holiday is designed to promote tennis as a sport throughout the world.

The third international seminar for referees on the Indian game of kabaddi has ended in Tehran. Representatives from many countries took part in it, including Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand and others. From Turkmenistan, three masters of the national Martial Arts Federation “Hanmudo”, which includes this increasingly popular sport, participated in the seminar, writes the “Neutral Turkmenistan” newspaper.

The growing popularity of kabaddi is evidenced by the inclusion of this Indian game in major sporting events such as the Asian Games. An important event this year was also the inclusion of kabaddi in competitions held by the International Council of Military Sports (CISM).

Turkmenistan entered CISM in 2017, and two years later it represented the national team for the first time at the Military World Summer Games in Wuhan, China. Turkmen military personnel then competed in judo and wrestling. In April this year, the next CISM comprehensive military games will be held in Iran, where kabaddi competitions will be held for the first time with the participation of the national team of Turkmenistan.

At the end of the seminar, all participants received certificates confirming their high qualifications as judges. Among the recipients are the head of the “Hanmudo” Federation Orif Bukharakov, the Secretary General of the Federation Guvanch Gulgeldyev and the representative of the kabaddi school from Mary velayat Nagmat Hojamammedov. The certificates they receive give them the right to judge international kabaddi competitions, including those held by CISM.

In addition to classic kabaddi, there are tournaments in its beach version. In September 2024, the World Beach Kabaddi Championship will be held in Iran, in which the Turkmenistan national team plans to participate.

Currently, the “Hanmudo” Federation is preparing for the Turkmenistan Universal Fight Championship, which will be held on February 27-29 in Ashgabat. Before the tournament, the Turkmen delegation will take part in the reporting and election conference of the Asian Hand-to-Hand Combat Federation in Tashkent.

Sports competitions dedicated to the Day of Diplomatic Workers of Turkmenistan began in Ashgabat. The event is attended by employees of the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representatives of foreign diplomatic missions and international organizations accredited in Turkmenistan, CentralAsia.news reports.  The competitions take place in the Olympic village of Ashgabat. Diplomats compete in volleyball, table tennis, mini-football and bowling.  

The competition participants noted the importance of such sporting events, which promote informal communication and strengthening friendly ties between representatives of different countries.

The Ambassador of Tajikistan to Turkmenistan Vafo Niyatbekzoda emphasized that friendship is the basis for the successful development of international relations.

 – Mixed teams from different countries played in the mini-football match. In the end, friendship won. And friendship is the key to success and peace in the world,” the ambassador said.

The coaching staff of the women's and men's weightlifting teams of Turkmenistan has decided on the final composition of the teams for the Asian Championship, which will be held from February 3 to 10 in Tashkent.

The women's team included Kristina Shermetova and Yulduz Jumabayeva (both in the weight category up to 55 kg), Polina Guryeva (up to 76 kg) and Anamjan Rustamova (up to 81 kg).

The men's team will include Seitjan Mirzayev (up to 61 kg), Bunyad Rashidov and Bektimur Reimov (both up to 73 kg), Maksad Meredov (up to 81 kg), Gaygysyz Torayev (up to 89 kg), Shahzatbek Matyakubov (up to 96 kg) and Hojamuhammet Toychiyev (over 109 kg).

It is worth noting that at the Asian Championships in Tashkent, Turkmen athletes have the opportunity to gain ranking points on the way to the Olympics in Paris.

The Kazakhstan national football team will hold a friendly match with the Turkmenistan national team in mid-March. This was reported by the press service of the Kazakhstan Football Federation.

It is noted that Magomed Adiyev’s team will begin training camp in Dubai on March 8, and a friendly match is scheduled for March 14 against the national team of Turkmenistan.

The national teams of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan met on the field 3 times. Twice the meeting came down to a draw, and once the victory went to the Kazakhstan team.

Currently, in the FIFA rankings, Kazakhstan is in 100th position, Turkmenistan is in 141st.

The next official matches of the national team of Turkmenistan will take place in March 2024 - these will be the qualifying games for the 2026 FIFA World Cup against the Iranian team.

On March 21, Mergen Orazov’s team will play away in Tehran, and the return match in Ashgabat will be held on March 26.

It is worth noting that on March 21 in Athens, the Kazakhstan national team will play a playoff match of the 2024 European Championship qualifying tournament against Greece.

During a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, it was announced that special attention in the coming year will be paid to the preparation of national teams for the XXXIII Summer Olympic and XVII Summer Paralympic Games in Paris, reports the State News Agency of Turkmenistan.

As Deputy Prime Minister Nurmuhammet Amannepesov said in his report, in the work plans of specialized institutions for 2024, priority is given to the development of sports and the Olympic movement, raising a healthy younger generation, and preparing highly qualified athletes for the main start of the four-year period.

Let us remind that the Summer Olympic Games in Paris (France) will be held from July 26 to August 11, 2024. 206 National Olympic Committees will take part in the competition. Athletes will compete for 329 sets of awards in 32 sports.

President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov delivered a traditional New Year's address to the people of Turkmenistan, reports the State News Agency of Turkmenistan.

“Dear compatriots!

The year 2023, marked by the year of happy youth, is coming to an end. Very soon we will celebrate the New Year, 2024.

The next year according to the eastern calendar is the year of Pisces. The passing year is significant in the newest chronicle of independent neutral Turkmenistan with large-scale reforms, as well as the grand opening of the first “smart city” in the history of the Fatherland - the city of Arkadag, the construction of which was initiated by the Hero-Arkadag. The city itself has received more than 20 international awards.

At the same time, a large number of modern residential buildings, schools and kindergartens, medical and sports facilities have been built throughout the country, cultural institutions, parks, industrial and other structures have been commissioned, and major projects in the fuel and energy complex have been implemented.

Thousands of happy families celebrated housewarming parties in luxury homes. In short, the results of the work done clearly demonstrate the economic potential of our Motherland.

Large-scale events have been successfully held in the independent Fatherland. At the very beginning of 2023, the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan was created, and already on March 26, elections of deputies of the Mejlis and members of velayat, etrap, city Halk Maslahaty and Gengeshes were held.

Fundamental reforms are being consistently carried out in the agricultural sector. Our dedicated farmers reaped a generous harvest of wheat, cotton and other agricultural crops, replenishing the Motherland's harvest. In the future, we will consider the issue of increasing government purchase prices for cotton and wheat to economically stimulate farmers growing these crops on our generous land, and will also significantly strengthen the material and technical base of the industry.

Large-scale work has been launched in the oil and gas, transport and communications, trade and business sectors, which make a significant contribution to the advancement of our sovereign state along the path of progress.

Dear compatriots!

A fundamental national healthcare system has been formed in independent Turkmenistan. Protecting health and increasing life expectancy of the population will always be the focus of the state’s attention, since ensuring a healthy life and well-being of citizens is our main goal.

Science and education are one of the fundamental systems on the path to a bright future, so we attach great importance to their modernization and the preparation of physically strong and capable youth.

Much is being done to massively attract the younger generation to sports and increase the sports prestige of the Motherland in the international arena.

It is noteworthy that our country was elected as a member of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee on Physical Culture and Sports for 2023–2027. We will continue to work closely with relevant international structures, as well as develop various sports.

In 2023, the Magtymguly Youth Organization of Turkmenistan became an official member of the UNESCO Global Youth Community, and we successfully held youth forums with the participation of representatives of many friendly countries.

One of the unforgettable events in this series was the International Scientific and Practical Conference and Exhibition in commemoration of the Year of Happy Youth, organized in Ashgabat at a high level.

Within the framework of these events, we awarded the winners of international sports tournaments, school subject Olympiads and student competitions held in the country and abroad.

The labor merits of youth representatives in various segments of the economy, who make a great contribution to the development of the country, were also appreciated.

We intend to continue to attach great importance to educating the younger generation in the spirit of love for the Motherland and support youth initiatives.

As for foreign policy, we will consistently strengthen the position of the neutral Fatherland on the world stage, enriching partnerships with the countries of the planet and international structures with new content.

We also pay great attention to issues of respect for nature and the introduction of “green” technologies. Our positions in this area were announced at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Therefore, we will continue to contribute to maintaining environmental well-being by organizing mass greening campaigns in the country.

This year, at the initiative of Turkmenistan, a number of UN Resolutions were unanimously adopted: “The role of the United Nations regional center for preventive diplomacy for Central Asia” - within the framework of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, as well as “The key role of reliable and stable energy connectivity in ensuring sustainable development” and “Strengthening links between all modes of transport to achieve sustainable development goals” - at the 49th plenary meeting of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly. These events once again clearly demonstrated the wide support of the world community for the initiatives of neutral Turkmenistan in the interests of all humanity.

Dear compatriots!

Thanks to the active interaction of our country with the UN specialized agency for education, science and culture, the collection of manuscripts of the poet and thinker Magtymguly Fragi is included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Program, and the 300th anniversary of his birth is in the UNESCO List of Memorable Dates jointly celebrated in 2024–2025.

Dear Turkmen people!

Our country is taking large-scale measures to develop national culture and preserve heritage. At the end of the year, we held various thematic events at an international level, as well as Culture Days. The Culture Week organized in Ashgabat played a special role in enriching our culture, art and literature. Next year we will hold a high-level Culture Week in the city of Arkadag.

The year 2024 will be filled with significant events on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the great poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi.

We will continue to continue the state policy aimed at protecting, in-depth scientific study and popularization of the original traditions and historical and cultural heritage of the Turkmen people.

Dear friends!

In order to further improve the well-being and social conditions of the population, from January 1 of the new year we will increase wages, pensions, state benefits, and scholarships for students and trainees by 10 percent.

The New Year, which we all celebrate with bright dreams and hopes, great goals, will be successful for our people and country.

Filled with pride for our native Fatherland and having set clear goals for ourselves, we declared the coming 2024 the year of “The Fount of the Mind of Magtymguly Fragi”. As Hero-Arkadag notes in his poem, the poet and thinker Magtymguly Fragi is a fount of reason for each of us.

In the new year, we will continue to work selflessly to transform our beloved Fatherland into a land where happiness and prosperity reign.

Dear Turkmen people!

We are on the threshold of the New Year, 2024, and at this moment I sincerely wish you new success! May peace, prosperity and prosperity reign in every home, and may your days be full of happiness!

Dear compatriots!

Happy New Year 2024!” - says the New Year’s message from the head of state.

Turkmen judoka Hekim Agamammedov won a bronze medal at the Grand Slam tournament, Tokyo Grand Slam 2023, which ended in the capital of Japan, reports the publication “Turkmenistan: Golden Age”.

The two-day tournament brought together 506 athletes from 84 countries, who competed for 14 sets of medals in 7 men's and 7 women's weight categories. Among its participants were many famous judokas, including 5 current Olympic champions and 8 current world champions.

24-year-old Hekim Agamammedov became a bronze medalist in the up to 66 kg weight category, in which 48 judokas from 35 countries competed for medals.

On the way to this success, he won five victories. In the first round, Hekim won a clear victory over Ari Berliner from the USA. In the second fight, he defeated Yashar Najafov from Azerbaijan. In the third round, the Turkmen judoka defeated Radu Izvoreanu from Moldova. However, in the fight for reaching the semi-finals, he lost to Daiki Boubet (France) and was forced to get to the podium through a consolation tournament.

In the next two meetings, Agamammedov snatched victory from Willian Lima from Brazil, and then beat Erhembayar Battogtokh from Mongolia and climbed to the third step of the podium.

The second bronze medalist in this weight category was the current number one in the world ranking, Denis Vieru from Moldova. Bashu Yondonparenlein from Mongolia climbed to the second step of the podium. And the winner of Tokyo Grand Slam 2023 gold was Hifumi Abe from Japan, who achieved a clear victory in the second minute of the final match.

At the award ceremony in such an eminent campaign of judoists, the Turkmen athlete was awarded a bronze medal by the President of the Mongolian Judo Association Battulga Khaltmaagiin, after which the National Flag of Turkmenistan was raised in honor of the success of Hekim Agamammedov under the arches of the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium Palace.

Previously, Turkmen judokas had never stood on the podium in the prestigious Grand Slam competitions, the winners of which receive ranking points to participate in the World Championships and Olympic Games. Previously, the best result at such tournaments was 5th place in 2014 in Baku by Gulbadam Babamuratova.

It is noted that Hekim Agamammedov began practicing judo in the city of Turkmenbashy with his first coach Rashid Huseynov. Currently, he is improving his sports skills under the guidance of the senior coach of the men's team, Gahryman Amandurdyev, and the head coach of the national team, Japanese specialist Kazuhiko Tokuno.