2006 Press Releases

U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Steven R. Mann

U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Steven R. Mann Visits Turkmenistan

August 15, 2006

U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Steven R. Mann visited Turkmenistan from August 13-15, 2006. At his August 14 meeting with President Saparmurat Niyazov, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Mann outlined certain U.S. Government priorities and objectives in Turkmenistan. Specific attention was placed on the diversification of regional energy resources; the importance of security cooperation and support for people-to-people contacts.

Following his talk with President Saparmurat Niyazov, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mann noted that the meeting was constructive for both sides. "We discussed the issues of further development of the energy sector in Turkmenistan. The United States supports the diversification of pipelines. We consider that monopoly does not benefit and is not favorable for those countries that have considerable reserves of natural gas and oil. One can think of it in a commercial sense, but the most important and the most profitable [force] for the countries of the Caspian region is competition, and it is also through competition that it is possible to attract the highest level of environmental protection and the most advanced technology."

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Steven R. Mann joined the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in May 2006 following his service as Senior Advisor for Eurasia. He is responsible for a range of foreign policy issues in the region, including region-wide energy issues. From 2001 to 2005, he was the senior U.S. official responsible for Caspian energy issues, and was also heavily involved in mediating Eurasian conflicts and other Eurasian energy issues. In 2003, he served on the staff of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.

Originally from Pennsylvania, PDAS Mann joined the Foreign Service in 1976 and served in a number of foreign and domestic assignments. He opened the first United States Embassies in Armenia, Micronesia, and Mongolia, and from 1992 to 1994 served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Colombo, Sri Lanka. PDAS Mann has also been the Country Director for India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and from 1998 to 2001 he served as U.S. Ambassador to Turkmenistan,

A previous Fellow at the Harriman Institute for Advanced Soviet Studies at Columbia University, PDAS Mann is also a Distinguished Graduate of the National War College. He holds an A.B. degree from Oberlin College and M.A. degrees from Cornell and Columbia Universities. He speaks Russian and German fluently.