2005 Press Releases

U.S. Government Donates Laboratory Equipment to Turkmenistan

Sept. 1, 2005

On September 1, 2005, a handover ceremony marked the donation of a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GCMS) forensic laboratory instrument from the U.S. Government to Turkmenistan’s Ministry of the Interior. U.S. Ambassador to Turkmenistan Tracey Ann Jacobson, Deputy Minister of the Interior Saparberdy Atabayev, representatives of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP), Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program (INL) in the U.S. Department of State participated in the ceremony.

INL, with the support of the U.S. Embassy, has been conducting training in Turkmenistan for the past three years. Representatives from the U.S. government are facilitating the installation of the GCMS forensic laboratory equipment and providing training to the laboratory staff during their August 29 – September 2 visit. The value of the GCMS and additional computer and photographic equipment that were donated totals approximately $100,000.