SDG Financing Talks: Ashgabat hosted a “Hard Talk” and a 14th Joint Expert Group meeting with UN partners on strengthening Sustainable Development Goal financing, focusing on better public finance systems, strategic budgeting, and an Integrated National Financing Framework to align national priorities with development funding. Customs Digital Upgrade: Turkmenistan’s State Customs Service rolled out an AI assistant inside its Single Window for Export-Import Operations portal, helping users classify goods (HS codes), check permits, estimate customs duties, and speed up clearance with trilingual support. EBRD Leadership Change: The EBRD named Nodira Mansurova as its new Regional Head for the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, based in Bishkek and starting 1 September 2026. Foreign Tourism Easing: Turkmenistan has begun gradually relaxing restrictions for foreign visitors, with reports of faster visas and fewer limits on taking photos in public. World Bicycle Day Diplomacy: On 3 June, Turkmenistan marked World Bicycle Day with events at diplomatic missions abroad, linking sport and environmental awareness to the country’s UN-backed initiative. Human Rights Watch: A new monitoring update says Turkmenistan’s media and internet controls remain highly restrictive, including reports of crackdowns on tools used to bypass censorship. Cotton Forced-Labour Concerns: Rights groups again allege forced labour persists in the cotton harvest, citing mobilization of public workers and child labour figures.