2006 Press Releases

Peace Corps Regional Director for Europe, the Mediterranean, and Asia Jay Katzen Visits Turkmenistan

Sept. 21, 2006

Peace Corps Regional Director for Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia (EMA) Jay Katzen completed an official two-day visit to Turkmenistan today. At meetings with Minister of Foreign Affairs Rashit Meredov and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov, Mr. Katzen stressed the importance of the educational cooperation to the health of the U.S.-Turkmenistan bilateral relationship. In particular he highlighted how the Peace Corps program, in tandem with efforts from USAID and other sections of the embassy have boosted English Language teaching programs and provided crucial assistance to Turkmenistan’s health care sector. In addition to his formal meetings, Mr. Katzen visited local Peace Corps volunteers at their sites.

Following his talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Jay Katzen noted “I'm pleased to have been able to thank both Foreign Minister Meredov and Deputy Chairman Berdimuhammedov for taking such good care of our volunteers. Because I would like Foreign Minister Meredov to see first-hand the fine work our volunteers are doing here, I invited him to visit a Peace Corps Leadership Camp next summer. The Foreign Minister and I discussed possibilities for broadening Peace Corps assistance to the people of Turkmenistan in health and English language education, and I offered to host Foreign Minister Meredov and Deputy Chairman Berdimuhammedov on a visit to the Peace Corps headquarters in Washington.”

Mr. Katzen was appointed to his current position in February 2004, building on his extensive experience of international affairs; previously he served for nearly 25 years as a career Foreign Service Officer in the U.S. State Department. He was Deputy Chief of Mission in Bamako, Mali, and Chargé d'Affaires in Brazzaville, Congo. Mr. Katzen’s other posts have included Australia, Burundi, Romania, and Zaire, and service at the United States Mission to the United Nations in New York. He was also Vice Chairman of the Board of the African Development Foundation and most recently served as a delegate in the Commonwealth of Virginia's House of Delegates, where he represented the 31st legislative district of Fauquier, Rappahannock, and Warren counties.

Katzen earned his bachelor's degree at Princeton University and a master's degree at Yale University. He was a visiting professor at the Boston College Graduate School of Management and has served on advisory boards at Duke University, the University of Kentucky, and Shenandoah University.