The Embassy of Turkmenistan in Belgium hosted a meeting between the Ambassador of Turkmenistan, Sapar Palvanov, and the Deputy Regional Director of the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, Octavian Bivol.
The key topics of the conversation were human capital development, child rights protection, youth support, and the implementation of joint regional initiatives.
Special attention was paid to investing in human capital and the well-being of children and youth.
Ambassador Sapar Palvanov noted that youth development, social stability, and economic prosperity are closely intertwined. According to him, investments in the health, education, social protection, and opportunities of children and youth foster a healthy, educated, and resilient generation, which forms the foundation for long-term stability, sustainable economic growth, and state development.
Octavian Bivol commended the young demographic profile of Turkmenistan, highlighting that more than half of the country’s population consists of people under the age of 30. He described this as a valuable national resource and a significant potential for future development.
The sides agreed that consistent investment in the younger generation is key to transforming this demographic advantage into higher social resilience, productivity, and economic progress.
A separate topic of discussion was the initiative of the UNICEF Regional Office to hold a presentation of the regional report “Generation 2050 in Central Asia” in Brussels.
The Ambassador of Turkmenistan supported this initiative. In the diplomat’s view, the event should go beyond a traditional presentation of an analytical report and serve as a substantive platform for a high-level political dialogue involving Central Asian countries, European Union institutions, international financial institutions, and development partners, focused on discussing practical approaches to investing in human capital and strengthening regional cooperation.
For his part, the UNICEF highly appreciated the constructive partnership with Turkmenistan and expressed gratitude for the consistent support of the organization’s national and regional programs.
Following the meeting, the parties reaffirmed their mutual interest in further strengthening cooperation./// nCa, 13 July 2026