Today, U.S. Ambassador to Turkmenistan Matthew Klimow and the Minister of Culture of Turkmenistan Atageldi Shamyradov inaugurated an exhibition dedicated to 20 years of successful cooperation between the United States of America and Turkmenistan in historic and cultural preservation through the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) at the Museum of Fine Arts of Turkmenistan.
The Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation is a grant program established by the State Department at the request of Congress that has supported over 1,000 cultural preservation projects in more than 130 countries since 2001.
“As many of you know, the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation is awarded on a globally competitive basis.I am proud to say that since the program’s inception in 2001, Turkmenistan has received 28 AFCP grants more than any other country in the world.
This achievement shines a light on Turkmenistan’s historical and cultural heritage.It is also a symbol of the high regard in which the United States holds Turkmen culture,” Ambassador Klimow noted in his opening remarks.
The exhibition hosted by the Museum of Fine Arts of Turkmenistan features large scale photographs of each of the projects and a slideshow of pictures showing the works in progress. The museum’s permanent collections include artifacts from four of the projects which are currently on display. The AFCP exhibit will be available for viewing until May 14.