In the fall of 2018, when Turkmenistan was experiencing an acute food shortage, then-President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov During a business trip to New York, he lived in an apartment costing 45 thousand dollars per night. This follows from presidential orders No. 637 dated August 8, 2018, sent by a turkmen.news source in one of the country’s ministries.
In total, the business trip to the United States for the UN General Assembly lasted four days, so in total the number of the head of state cost the Turkmen budget $180 thousand. This level of spending is the norm for a Turkmen president. Thus, according to another document, in 2015, during another visit to New York, Berdymukhamedov was paid for apartments worth 28.3 thousand dollars per night.
But let’s go back to 2018. Berdimuhamedov, of course, did not travel to the United States alone. For four days, 19 single rooms were rented at the same hotel for $2,250 a night, apparently for his closest guards. Another 18 single rooms were rented for $1,250 a night for seven days. Finally, ten single rooms were reserved for members of the delegation for eight days at $550 per night.
Separate estimates indicate “additional hotel services” for $60 thousand and “entertainment expenses” for $21 thousand. And the country’s budget paid over 205 thousand US dollars for car rental during the visit.
A total of $839,357 was allocated for travel for the presidential office alone.
An additional $131,250 was spent to rent 15 more hotel rooms at $1,250 per night. Employees of ministries and departments accompanying the president were accommodated in them. And another $109,300 was allocated for the accommodation of 12 members of the flight crew. The crew members of the plane that brought the delegation members to the United States were accommodated for five to seven days in rooms costing $1,450 per night. This amount also included $2,000 for luggage delivery services to the rooms and tips for porters.
Thus, in total, more than $1 million was spent on the business trip of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and other officials, and the total amount does not include the cost of kerosene and aircraft parking at the New York airport.
Let us remember that it was then, in 2018, that food problems sharply worsened in Turkmenistan. People stood in lines for cheap chicken legs under police control, and empty counters were filled fake packaging with cotton wool instead of chicken. Citizens couldn’t buy enough flourto feed their families.
Subsequently, during the coronavirus pandemic, Turkmenistan introduced ration order distribution of products at state prices. Each family had access to only a limited number of goods per month. To date, the situation with products has improved somewhat, but some problems still persist.
Against the backdrop of such problems, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov did not hesitate to relax in an apartment for 45 thousand dollars. The average salary in Turkmenistan is $100. The amount that the then president spent on a day in a hotel would be earned by an ordinary citizen of the country in 37 and a half years.