FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEPUTY CHAIRMAN MEREDOV TELLS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ASHGABAT 000563 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/CEN (PERRY),EUR/ACE AND ECA E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL SCUL SOCI TX US SUBJECT: FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEPUTY CHAIRMAN MEREDOV TELLS ECA/DAS ROMANOWSKI TURKMENISTAN WANTS TO ENERGIZE ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNITED STATES Classified By: Classified by Charge d'Affaires a.i. Jennifer Brush for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Deputy Chairman for Foreign Affairs Rashit Meredov told DAS Romanowski his government wanted to energize its relationship with the United States. While he refrained from making any commitments, and instead referred DAS Romanowski to the Ministry of Education, he listened attentively to her proposals and requests -- including for direct working-level contacts -- without immediately ruling any out. Meredov repeated the mantra that the government wanted to play a more direct role in determining Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) students, but did so less persistently than in some of the embassy's prior meetings with him. He promised to consider DAS Romanowski's request that the Ashgabat International School be registered, and seemed particularly interested in increased cultural programs and by the possibility of establishing sports exchanges. While he refrained from mentioning Russia, it was clear that Meredov was aware that his country's reawakening relationship with Russia was very much on the delegation's mind. End Summary. Meredov Enthusiastic -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Meredov, focused and unusually cheerful throughout the almost 90-minute meeting, reviewed the gradual improvement in bilateral cooperation since President Niyazov's death and, noting the wide range of activities during DAS Romanowski's visit, hoped that her trip would continue the positive trend. DAS Romanowski stressed that the presence in her delegation of representatives of all U.S. agencies responsible for cooperation on education issues demonstrated the strong U.S. commitment to helping President Berdimuhammedov achieve his goal of improving Turkmenistan's education system. She had come to Ashgabat prepared to offer suggestions for expanding educational exchange programs, programs to train teachers and school administrators, and English language teaching programs. Proposals for Expanded Cooperation -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In concrete terms, Romanowski said, the United States was prepared to make the following suggestions for expansion: -- Expand academic exchanges. Specifically, the United States wanted to maintain the number of Turkmenistan high school students, who were wonderful ambassadors for their country, in the FLEX program, and to increase the number of participants in university exchanges. The ability to maintain broad representative participation in the exchange programs was very important to the United States, and Romanowski requested Foreign Ministry understanding and support for that goal. -- Increase the partnership in teacher training and curriculum strengthening programs. In this regard, the United States wanted to send 20 Turkmenistan teachers to a regional conference on teaching English that would be held in Bishkek in June, send up to five Fulbright specialists to Turkmenistan to support the government's priority areas, and send ten teachers to the United States on a school management program under USAID's Community Connections programs. USAID was also prepared to expand its joint program with the government on school management and teacher training. In addition, the United States hoped that the former strong relationship between Turkmen State University and Texas A&M University could be reestablished. ASHGABAT 00000563 002 OF 004 Romanowski: Need Commitment for Improved Cooperation -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Romanowski said that there were also other opportunities for increasing cooperation, but the parameters of those programs would have to be worked out once the United States had a clearer idea of what the Government of Turkmenistan needed. Such discussions required more routine expert-to-expert contacts than had been always possible in Turkmenistan. The two sides needed to start a direct dialogue. Stressing the need to bring the "right types of people" to Turkmenistan to work with the Ministry of Education, Romanowski commented that the embassy had encountered repeated visa problems and she asked for the Foreign Ministry's assistance. Meredov responded that "we provide all possible assistance." ¶5. (SBU) Romanowski noted that there were some other issues where the Government of Turkmenistan could demonstrate its commitment to cooperation: -- Ashgabat International School Registration. The Ashgabat International School had been requesting for over 10 years to register. Registration for the school would send a signal of the importance that the government placed on education; it would also make Ashgabat a more attractive destination for diplomatic and international business families with children. (Comment: Meredov leaned over and had a short exchange with the head of the Americas Section, but he nodded slightly toward the end of Romanowski's comments. End Comment.) -- Reopening American Corner and IATP Centers. Turkmenistan needed to reopen the American Center (in Turkmenbashy City) and the IATP centers that had been shut down in Ashgabat, Dashoguz and Balkanabat. Noting that the IATP centers were particularly helpful for expanding English language programs, Romanowski hoped that Turkmenistan would reconsider its closure of the centers. ¶6. (SBU) Romanowski said she was pleased to hear earlier that morning that Turkmen State University was holding an expert-level conference on education development. Romanowski noted that this was exactly the kind of conference where U.S. experts could have made a useful contribution. It was a shame, she said,if we had been notified earlier, members of the education experts from delegation might have been able to participate. ¶7. (SBU) Romanowski stated that the United States and Turkmenistan had built a strong foundation for cooperation in education. The United States recognized that the changes Turkmenistan envisioned would take a long time, but Washington was committed to working with authorities here, and she hoped for a strong dialogue in the areas where the two countries hoped to work together. Meredov Pushes for Greater Role in FLEX Recruitment -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Meredov agreed that the bilateral partnership in education had a strong foundation and had benefited people from school-age children to experts with science degrees. Intensifying cooperation with the United States was important to Turkmenistan. It was necessary, however, to discuss some programs in detail: -- FLEX. Stating he was glad to hear DAS Romanowski's words on cooperation, Meredov called for more "mutual cooperation and understanding." Romanowski responded that the United States wanted to ensure that student participation was as broad-based and representative of Turkmenistan as possible, so the United States drew on as many recommendations as possible, including from institutions with which the United ASHGABAT 00000563 003 OF 004 States worked. But it was important for students to have the chance to apply and participate in the testing process. Turkmenistan's FLEX students had been great ambassadors, participating as volunteers and working with the elderly. Meredov responded that Turkmenistan was proud of its children, but suggested that, while he recognized there were rules and regulations, the United States should work closely with Turkmenistan teachers, who knew about the applicants' performance in school, families, spiritual life and ability to adapt and live on their own. Turkmenistan wanted to see "worthy" children go to the United States; this would also ensure that Turkmenistan would benefit as well. Romanowski noted that FLEX had been a very successful program and said that the United States wanted to find ways of accommodating Turkmenistan's wishes. Noting that the United States wanted to be as supportive as possible, she hoped for a "working dialogue" with the Ministry of Education on this issue. -- USAID's School Management Program. Meredov said that "we" would consider this important program. After Romanowski had made her presentation to the Ministry of Education, Turkmenistan would study and review the proposal. Stressing that the program could focus on a number of possible directions -- training of principals, training of those in management structures, interaction between teachers and students, or punishment -- Romanowski stressed that the United States hoped to shape the program around Turkmenistan's education priorities. However, this required an efficient dialogue between the two sides. Meredov said that his ministry would make every effort to assist with expert-level contacts. Listing the other issues that Romanowski had raised, Meredov stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would try to resolve everything. Meredov Pleased with Cultural Exchanges -------------- 9, (SBU) Becoming more animated, Meredov thanked Romanowski for the many U.S. efforts to broaden bilateral cultural understanding. Listing a number of examples -- the programs carried out under the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, films, concerts, meetings and speakers programs -- he said that there had been a positive balance in those efforts between trying to promote understanding of the United States in Turkmenistan, and working with Turkmenistan's experts to preserve their heritage. At the same time, there were also examples of U.S. support to promote understanding of Turkmen culture in the United States, such as the exhibit which had opened on March 30 at the Textile Museum in Washington, DC. While the exhibit covered carpet arts of all Central Asia, the vast majority of items in the exhibit were from Turkmenistan, including some really fine old carpets. Meredov had also seen a television program which had focused for almost 40 minutes on the exhibit; he was visibly pleased with the positive exposure. Sports Exchanges Proposed for Future Consideration -------------- -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Romanowski raised the possibility of introducing sports diplomacy exchanges as an element of expanding bilateral cooperation. Meredov agreed and joked about an MFA-sponsored soccer tournament for Ashgabat-based diplomats last November (in which three embassy personnel were injured, one seriously); he claimed that the U.S. Embassy's best soccer player was the female Pol/Econ officer. Romanowski noted Turkmenistan's stated goal of reestablishing sports programs in schools, and offered to share U.S. expertise on integrating sports into education curricula -- or to send sports coaches and figures, or teams; however, such possibilities should be left for the future. Meredov seemed to like the proposal and promised to consider it. He ASHGABAT 00000563 004 OF 004 suggested that the embassy could offer a more specific proposal later, or the United States could send a visitor to look at Ashgabat's many sports facilities. ¶11. (SBU) Meredov promised once again to look at registration for the international school, and Romanowski made one final push for more direct expert-to-expert contacts. Meredov promised that dialogue would continue. Comment -------------- ¶12. (C) Meredov maintained the pleasant, we-welcome-improved-cooperation atmosphere that has been characteristic of most recent U.S. visits. Though he did not mention Russia at all during the meeting, Meredov clearly was aware that Turkmenistan's recently budding relationship with Moscow -- and questions about what that means for the future of U.S.-Turkmenistan relations -- was very much on the delegation's mind, and clearly wanted to signal that, in drawing closer to Moscow, Turkmenistan was not turning its back on a better relationship with the United States. Meredov's direct message to Romanovski was further reinforced by glowing media coverage of the delegation's visit in the main newspaper the next day, along with a full page discussion of education and English language teaching. End Comment. ¶13. (U) This cable was cleared by ERA DAS Romanowski. BRUSH