United States Assists Turkmenistan's National Library with Conservation and Restoration of Valuable Books

PAS No 257
September 23, 2009

U.S. Chargé d’Affaires, Sylvia Curran is greeted by Ogulgozel Muhammetgulyeva, Director of the National Library of Turkmenistan

Ashgabat, September 23, 2009 –  The U.S. Embassy held a ceremony today to award a grant to Turkmenistan's National Library for the conservation and restoration of rare and valuable books.   The grant will help the National Library with the conservation and restoration of nearly 50,000 rare and valuable books from the 16th-19th centuries.  These books represent massive portions of Turkmenistan’s literary treasures, and preserving them will enable generations of Turkmen to continue to enjoy the wisdom of their heritage.

U.S. Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., Sylvia Curran gave opening remarks and presented the winner with a congratulatory letter.  In her opening remarks she emphasized that "annually, this is a highly-competitive, global competition with U.S. Embassies all over the world, submitting proposals for Washington’s approval.  Historically, Turkmenistan has had many successful proposals for outstanding projects, and this year’s group of proposals was no exception." 

The grant is part of a global program for cultural preservation called the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation.  To date, the Ambassadors Fund has supported more than 500 projects worldwide, totaling more than $13.4 million.  Over the past eight years in Turkmenistan the U.S. has supported 11 projects worth more than $230,000 to preserve historically important cultural sites and objects in Turkmenistan.   

In the past, funded projects have included technical support for the restoration of historic buildings; assessment and conservation of museum collections; archaeological site preservation; and improved storage conditions for archives and manuscripts.

U.S. Chargé d’Affaires gives opening remarks at the ceremony	U.S. Chargé d’Affaires presents the AFCP grant winner with a congratulatory letter

Director of the National Cultural Center, Tuwakbibi Durdyeva expresses gratitude to the US Embassy for the AFCP grant.	State TV reporter interviews U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Sylvia Curran.