TURKMENISTAN: AMCIT EVANGELICAL GROUP BRINGS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 000373 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD, DRL/IRF E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON KIRF TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: AMCIT EVANGELICAL GROUP BRINGS INVITATION TO NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST REF: 07 ASHGABAT 1182 Classified By: CDA RICHARD E. HOAGLAND: 1.4 (B),(D). ¶1. (C) The AmCit Evangelical group, Friends of the Turkmen, has returned to Ashgabat for its semi-annual visit. This time the group included one of the officials from the International Foundation, the DC-area organization that does the administrative work for the 2009 National Prayer Breakfast, and brought letters of invitation to the Breakfast for President Berdimuhamedov, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Foreign Minister Meredov, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Sports and Tourism, and a Deputy Chair of the Parliament. The letter is signed by Representative Joseph Pitts (R-PA),who (according to the letter) meets monthly with ambassadors from many former Soviet Union States and counts Turkmenistan Ambassador Orazov as a friend. The Friends of the Turkmen delivered the letters to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and said the formal invitation would be issued by the House of Representatives in October. ¶2. (C) The official from the International Foundations said that he first came to Turkmenistan in 1998 on an "unofficial visit" with Congressman Pitts. The group traveled to a number of former Soviet Union countries, including Moldova, Ukraine, and Turkmenistan.While in Ashgabat, they met with the then Foreign Minister. ¶3. (C) The Friends of the Turkmen plan to open two offices, one for an affiliated business, Gateway (septel),which will specialize in oil and gas service equipment, and one under the name of FIT International, which will write letters of invitation for various visitors linked to the group. The group leader complained that they want to bring in more delegations of professionals to provide training and other assistance to Turkmenistan and feel hampered by the fact that it often takes months for their visas to be approved (letters of invitation are currently worked through the Turkmenistan Embassy in Washington). The first delegation is a sports and tourism group that hopes to arrive in May, to be followed by one dealing with education and science. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: The Friends of the Turkmen have been coming here for years and are always well-received by Turkmen officials. Whether or not they will be able to make real inroads, either through their business or with their delegations, remains to be seen. Nevertheless, they will likely keep plugging away. Members of the group are scheduled to host in California (where the group is based) U.S.-funded visitors on tourism and media-themed trips later this year. END COMMENT. HOAGLAND