Heads of state and government who arrived in Turkmenistan for international celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the country’s permanent neutrality took part in a ceremony to lay flowers at the Neutrality Monument on Friday in Ashgabat, according to state media.
President Serdar Berdimuhamedov led the ceremony, the key event of the morning on the International Day of Neutrality. The presence of a broad group of foreign leaders highlighted international support for Ashgabat’s peaceful course.
Participants included Russian President Vladimir Putin, Central Asian leaders, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan and Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov.
Other guests laying flowers included Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, President of São Tomé and Príncipe Carlos Manuel Vila Nova, Eswatini Prime Minister Russell Dlamini and Myanmar Prime Minister Nyo Soe. The ceremony was also attended by heads of international organizations and members of the diplomatic corps.
The flower-laying ceremony symbolized respect for Turkmenistan’s neutral status and opened the program of international events, which continues with the forum “Peace and Trust: Unity of Purpose in the Interest of a Sustainable Future.”
