The ceremony of awarding the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov with the Arkadag Medal took place at the Oguzhan Presidential Palace Complex in honour of the Day of Healthcare and Medical Industry Workers of Turkmenistan.
The Arkadag Medal is a state award of Turkmenistan established with the aim of broadly supporting humane initiatives, acknowledging the contribution, experience and growing international authority of the Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Charitable Foundation for Aid to Children in Need of Guardianship, founded on a voluntary basis in accordance with the principles of our ancestors and the national traditions of the Turkmen people, such as justice, humanity, philanthropy, high morality, charity and help to those in need of care, prioritising human interests, raising their dignity and awarding citizens of our country who have gained outstanding achievements in this area.
The Medal is awarded to those who have made a significant contribution to the successful implementation of the humane social policy, the protection of social rights, the right to health and legitimate interests of man and citizen, the exercise of the rights to worthy and full participation in the life of society and the state by persons in need of care, particularly children and the great contribution to the development of the social sphere and the activities of public, humanitarian, charitable bodies on the protection of public health, in particular, the provision of medical, health and rehabilitation care, the promotion of the volunteer movement, the exercise of the interests of motherhood and childhood, the protection of honour and dignity of mothers and children and the encouragement of a child-friendly attitude in society.
The first floor was given to the Chairwoman of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan D. Gulmanova, who read out the Resolution of the Mejlis on awarding the Arkadag Medal to the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov.
It was noted that in the period of the Revival of the New Era of the Powerful State, the humane principles and spiritual values of our people were reflected in the state policy pursued by Arkadagly Hero Serdar, and the great undertakings of the National Leader of the Turkmen people Hero-Arkadag had been filled with new content. Respect for kind-hearted people, generosity and support for those in need of care are the lofty principles in our independent and neutral Turkmenistan.
President Serdar Berdimuhamedov was awarded this high decoration for ensuring the legal guarantees of the protection and legitimate interests of the people, implementing complex organisational, legal and economic measures aimed at the social adaptation of children who need special care and social support, promoting charitable activities, following the principles of humanism, justice and mutual assistance and providing continuous support for the Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Charitable Foundation for Aid to Children in Need of Guardianship, which embodies the noble principles of our ancestors.
The Chairwoman of the Mejlis D. Gulmanova presented the Arkadag Medal of Turkmenistan to President Serdar Berdimuhamedov in a solemn atmosphere.
The President expressed heartfelt gratitude for the high state award of Turkmenistan, noting that he considered it an appreciation of the charitable activities based on the national traditions. Through the efforts of the Hero-Arkadag, the Foundation conducts noble humanitarian activities. The President said residential houses were built for those in need, assuring that the state and government would continue that noble work jointly with the Foundation.
Once again thanking for awarding the Arkadag Medal of Turkmenistan, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov sincerely congratulated all those present on the Day of Healthcare and Medical Industry Workers and wished them good health and a prosperous life.
Then the floor was given to the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs R. Meredov.
The Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers cordially congratulated the President on awarding the Arkadag Medal, noting that the key priorities of the domestic and foreign state policies, initiated by the Hero-Arkadag and successfully continued by the President of Turkmenistan, was humanism. In this regard, he noted the President of Turkmenistan was doing large-scale work to provide social benefits and to create the most favourable living conditions for citizens of the country.
On behalf of the cabinet ministers, the Minister of Foreign Affairs sincerely congratulated the President on the Day of Healthcare and Medical Industry Workers of Turkmenistan.
During the ceremony, the great significance of the holiday in the life of our state and society was highlighted. With the adoption of the Saglyk State Programme in July 1995, the new healthcare system was formed. The National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan, Hero-Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who was in charge of the health sector for many years and developed the science-based foundations of the state health policy, plays a huge role in building a long-term development strategy for the national health sector and making progress in this area.
The tasks of the phased implementation of the Programme determined the formation of a new Conception, based on comprehensive reforms in the sphere of domestic healthcare, which entailed the development of medical science and fundamental positive changes in the entire system, starting from the training of high-level specialists, general preventive measures to strengthen the health of the nation and its gene pool, to raise the life expectancy of people to the radical modernisation and expansion of the material and technical base, the improvement of the quality of medical services and others.
Ultra-modern medical centres have been built in Ashgabat and velayat centres, due to which a wide range of medical institutions that meet the principles of the new healthcare model have been established. Great attention is paid to the development of the healthcare system in the regions: in villages and etrap towns, where new etrap hospitals and health centres were built, and existing ones were completely reconstructed.
As a result of the open-doors policy pursued by the President of Turkmenistan, friendly and fraternal ties with foreign countries are becoming increasingly stronger. The awarding of 14 international certificates is indisputable recognition of Turkmenistan’s success in the field of public health.
Speaking at the festive ceremony, the high-ranking officials congratulated Arkadagly Hero Serdar on the high award, emphasising that the state policy pursued by Turkmenistan was based on the age-old humane principles of our people, the spiritual values and positive attitude of society and the wise life experience of our ancestors. In the period of the Revival of the New Era of the Powerful State, these noble traditions have been filled with new content and continued in a worthy manner. The priorities of the state policy, pursued by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, include the concern and care for young citizens, their wellbeing and harmonious development so that they can improve their health and receive high-quality education.
The Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Charitable Foundation for Aid to Children in Need of Guardianship, founded on the initiative of the Hero-Arkadag, conducts large-scale and effective work in this area.
Thanks to the noble deeds initiated by the National Leader of the Turkmen people and continued successfully under the leadership of Arkadagly Hero Serdar, the integrated system of the social protection of the lives of the younger generation and the restoration of the health of children in need of care has been created. This vividly testifies to the success of the state policy towards protecting the health of the younger generation.
In the new historical era, the age-old humanistic principles of the Turkmen people are vividly manifested in the humane policy of the Hero Arkadagly Serdar, as confirmed by the awarding of the Arkadag Medal to the President of Turkmenistan.
Expressing gratitude for the congratulations, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov wished every success to all those present.