While on the official visit to the city of Dushanbe, President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov has visited the National Museum of Tajikistan. The head of state was warmly welcomed by the museum director Abduvali Sharifzoda and staff at the entrance. During the get-acquainted tour, Abduvali Sharifzoda offered the eminent Turkmen guest insights into the museum’s history and told about its modern building that had opened its doors four years ago. It covers an area of more than 24,000 square meters. Twenty-two large and small halls with an area of 15,000 square meters house the collection of the Museum. These are the Department of Nature, the Department of Antiquities and the Middle Ages, the Department of Modern and Contemporary History, and the Department of Fine and Applied Arts. The Museum is also home to the Research Department that deals with written heritage, archeology and numismatics. The International Department is responsible for cooperation with foreign organizations. The Museum boasts specially equipped storage rooms, including 10 restoration laboratories. It also has an exhibition area to hold temporary expositions with mobile display stands and showcases. The multimedia and conference halls are used for an educational purpose, which is one of the Museum’s principal purposes. The Museum’s collection consists of two main parts: local history, and fine and applied arts. The halls on the basement floor feature the exhibition of the Department of Nature of Tajikistan. On display is an extensive collection of fossils and minerals explored and extracted in the country. A big draw for visitors is an 800-kilogram “stone tree”, which consists of 12,000 stone leaves. A collection of herbarium specimens introduce to the diversity of the local flora. There are well-designed geographical, relief, climatic and other maps. Color slides and the dioramas “Pamir”, “Chilichordukhtoron”, “Dashtijum”, “Tirgrovaya Balka” (the State Nature Reserve), and others make visits to the Museum visually impressive. The “Fauna” Hall contains a thematic installation made by designers. The President of Turkmenistan and members of the delegation visited the halls that house archeological finds dating back to the Achaemenid Empire, the Greko-Bactrian Kingdom, the Kushan Empire, the Sassanid Empire, and the Hephthalite Empire. In particular, on view are exact replicas of gold and silver artifacts, from the Amudarya treasure trove, a model and finds discovered at the world-known Temple of Ox, fragments of wall painting, carved wooden figures, ceramics and clothes from those periods. During the tour to the Museum’s thematic departments devoted to the different periods of Tajikistan’s history, including the contemporary epoch, the President of Turkmenistan showed much interest in the exhibits, their storage conditions and technologies. In this connection, the head of state noted that our country attaches special importance to the preservation and study of the Turkmen nation’s rich historical and cultural heritage, the unique monuments located in our country, and development of museology as a significant aspect of the state policy in the sphere of culture. State concern and fruitful international cooperation greatly assist in tackling priority issues in the field. Special efforts are being made today in our country in this sphere, including strengthening of museum’s material-technical base and related infrastructure improvement, construction of modern, specially equipped museum buildings. Speaking of the significance of cultural-humanitarian cooperation as an integral part of the bilateral relations, the Turkmen leader spoke for its promotion, including through exchange of experience. After the museum tour, President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov left a note in the Distinguished Visitors’ Book. Thanking the museum director and staff for the interesting and informative tour, the head of Turkmenistan warmly bid goodbye.