A MEETING ON THE WORKING OUT FURTHER STEPS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL STRATEGY OF TURKMENISTAN ON THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD WAS HELD

On December 11, 2019, a meeting was held in the premises of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan dedicated to the working out further steps on the implementation of the National Strategy of Turkmenistan on the Early Development of the Child for 2020-2025. As is known, the corresponding Resolution was signed on December 6, this year, by the Leader of the Nation during an extended meeting of the Government of Turkmenistan.

The meeting was attended by the heads and representatives of several ministries and departments of Turkmenistan, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Health and Medical Industry, and Education. The event was also attended by UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan E. Panova, Head of the UNICEF Representative Office in Turkmenistan K. Weigand as well as the Permanent Representatives of Turkmenistan to the United Nations (New York) and the UN Geneva Office.

The overall goal of the meeting was to discuss the next steps to implement the tasks arising from the National Strategy of Turkmenistan on the Early Development of the Child for 2020-2025.

During his speech, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan V. Khadzhiev noted that the Strategy is a logical continuation of the joint activities initiated by the Government of Turkmenistan with UNICEF on issues related to the “ECD” back in 2005, when the Government began to approach this systematically important issue by developing National Programs for the Early Development of the Child and Preparing the Child for School. At the earliest stages, together with UNICEF, national standards for early learning and child development were developed. The meeting participants exchanged views on improving the interaction between government agencies and public organizations.

Today, the current legislation of the country is fully consistent with international legal standards. The international community highly appreciates the Turkmen policy regarding the early development of the child and the preparation of the child for school.