A ceremony to award the Golden Insignia — the Grand Cross of the Order of Malta of the Federal State and City of Vienna — took place at the Vienna City Hall. The award was presented to the head of the Turkmen-Austrian Society, Neda Berger. It was awarded by decision of the Mayor of Vienna, Michael Ludwig, for her contribution to the development of cultural cooperation between Vienna and Ashgabat, according to the IIC.

The ceremony was conducted by Vienna City Councillor for Culture and Science Veronika Kaup-Hasler. She noted Neda Berger’s many years of work in strengthening humanitarian ties between the two countries, highlighting in particular the organization of Viennese Balls in Ashgabat.

The event was attended by the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Austria, Hemra Amannazarov, who congratulated Neda Berger on behalf of the Government of Turkmenistan and emphasized her contribution to the development of Turkmen-Austrian cultural dialogue.

Expressing gratitude to the Vienna authorities for their high appreciation of her work, Neda Berger thanked them for their support of joint cultural projects. Concluding the ceremony, she read a poem dedicated to the history of the Viennese Balls in Ashgabat and to the importance of cultural diplomacy in strengthening friendly relations between Turkmenistan and Austria.