(Radio World) – A delegation from the State Committee of Turkmenistan for Television, Radio Broadcasting and Cinematography recently visited the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to apply for membership to the union for its state broadcaster. The visit was facilitated by BBC Media Action, the activist arm of the BBC. BBC Media Action has been funded by the European Union to help media development in Turkmenistan.

The two-day visit of the three-member delegation allowed the Turkmenistan broadcaster to discuss the range of services and benefits ABU membership offers.

Deputy Chairman of the State Committee Rasul Charyyev, head of the delegation, noted that the Turkmenistan state broadcaster is eager to join the ABU in order to develop links with other broadcasting organizations in the Asia-Pacific region and to have an international platform for promoting programs in the country.

The Turkmenistan state broadcaster is also interested in acquiring, through the ABU, broadcast rights for sports events and to receive training for its technical staff. In October 2011 the broadcaster moved to a new state-of-art television centre and in January launched a 24-hour sports channel.