Assistant Secretary of State Richard A. Boucher Visits Turkmenistan

PAS No 238
April 17, 2009

Assistant Secretary Boucher outlines the new U.S. administration’s foreign policy to students of Turkmenistan’s Institute of International Relations. Photogallery

Ashgabat, April 17, 2009 – The Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Richard A. Boucher, visited Turkmenistan April 14-17 to meet the President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, and to hold talks with other government officials.  Assistant Secretary Boucher’s visit covered the full range of bilateral issues including support for international efforts in Afghanistan, diversification of Turkmenistan’s natural gas export routes, and cooperation in fields such as education. Assistant Secretary Boucher’s schedule also included a session with students at the Institute of International Affairs of Turkmenistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Boucher said he held “broad and useful discussions with President Berdimuhamedov and other officials today.  We discussed regional cooperation, especially with regard to Afghanistan, and cooperation between the United States and Turkmenistan in areas such as education, agriculture, energy and progress towards a more open society.”

In 2005, Assistant Secretary Boucher became the longest-serving Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs in the Department of State’s history.  Richard A. Boucher started his work as the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs on February 21, 2006.  Since then, he has traveled extensively throughout all of South and Central Asia.  In June of 2008, he was conferred the personal rank of Career Ambassador, the highest possible rank for a member of the Foreign Service.

• Visit our Photo Gallery
  Dedicated to the visit by the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Richard A. Boucher
• Turkmenistan-U.S. Relations (Transcript of the Press Conference)
  Richard A. Boucher, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, April 16, 2009