OREANDA-NEWS. On 06 March 2009 was announced, that the Academy of Civil Service under the President of Turkmenistan opened in Ashgabat on 2 March. The head of state congratulated the academy's first students on this occasion. The text of the message was published in central newspapers, the Turkmenistan.ru correspondent reports from Ashgabat.

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that the pace of market reforms implemented in Turkmenistan "depends, first of all, on the competence, breadth of views, energy and managerial skills of state servants and senior managers."

"The objective of the Academy of Civil Service is to ensure the implementation of the state policy on training state servants of Turkmenistan and to define major directions of this policy in accordance with programmes of social-economic development of Turkmenistan," the message says. The president of Turkmenistan said "a new building of the academy will be soon built in one of the scenic places of Ashgabat."

It should be recalled that the Academy of Civil Service was set up last autumn in accordance with a decree of the president of Turkmenistan. By the resolution of the head of state, a plan of enrolment of students for the 2008-2009 academic year was approved. The first batch of students was enrolled for 5-month refresher courses for state servants and for 2-month refresher courses for employees of local government and local self-governance bodies. Certificates of completion will be awarded to students of short-term courses.