On Friday, June 14, 2024, a delegation from Turkmenistan visited University of Tsukuba and held a roundtable discussion with Vice President and Executive Director for Education, KATO Mitsuyasu, along with other university members. From the Turkmenistan side, 10 people including Mrs. Saparova Maya, Head of the International Relations Department, Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan, Mrs. Janmammedova Sahragul, Head of Science Department, Turkmen State Institute of Culture, Mrs. Berdiyeva Govher, First Secretary, Asia-Pacific Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan attended the meeting. From the University of Tsukuba side, in addition to Vice President Mitsuyasu Kato, Prof. Toshinobu Usuyama, Prof. Masaki Ono, Assoc. Prof. Akifumi Shioya, Assoc. Prof. Yukiko Yamamoto, and others. During the meeting, the delegation reviewed the history of educational and cultural exchange between Turkmenistan and University of Tsukuba, highlighting the latter’s educational support to the Oguz Han Engineering and Technology University of Turkmenistan. They also confirmed their expectations for the future development of stronger exchanges in science and technology.
On the same evening, a Turkmenistan Culture Day Concert was held to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Magtymguly*. The event was organized by the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Japan and co-sponsored by University of Tsukuba. At the venue, Mr. Miya Ishiyama, a doctoral student at the University of Tsukuba who has close ties to NipCA, served as co-moderator with a representative from Turkmenistan.
Over 600 people gathered at Tsukuba City’s Nova Hall to enjoy Turkmen music, dance, fashion shows, and cultural exhibits, that are rarely seen in Japan.
We look forward to further cooperation between our university and Turkmenistan in the future.
* Magtymguly was a poet and thinker from Turkmenistan. He created literary works in the Turkmen language at a time when such works were often written in foreign languages.
