2004 Press Releases

U.S. and Turkmenistan Sign Trade and Development Agreement

Feb. 25, 2004

U.S. Ambassador to Turkmenistan Tracey Ann Jacobson and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan for Agriculture Begench Atamuradov signed a U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) Grant Agreement between the Governments of the United States and Turkmenistan today, February 25, 2004, in Ashgabat. The Agreement awards Turkmenistan a grant of US $300,000 for technical training on construction equipment that the Government of Turkmenistan has purchased from the U.S. company Caterpillar for infrastructure projects. The USTDA approves the selection of Caterpillar as the firm responsible for conducting the training for Turkmen specialists working for organizations and enterprises that operate the equipment.

The signing ceremony marked the U.S. Ambassador's first meeting with the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan for Agriculture. Ambassador Jacobson praised the increasing cooperation between the U.S. and Turkmenistan in the field of agriculture and thanked the Turkmen Government for its efforts in making this happen. Ambassador Jacobson and Mr. Atamuradov also discussed other areas of cooperation, including several possible USAID projects and the Cochran Fellowship exchange program for Turkmen agriculture specialists, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Ambassador Jacobson said she is very proud that the Turkmen Government selected Caterpillar to supply Turkmenistan with a large amount of construction equipment and to implement training on that equipment. Caterpillar is the leading manufacturer of earthmoving equipment in the world. It already employs over thirty people in Turkmenistan and as cooperation expands, Caterpillar's involvement will create greater employment opportunities for Turkmen people.