Turkmenistan's Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs presented on Friday the launching issue of Rysgal, the first privately owned newspaper in the country, Turkmenistan.ru revealed.

The first issue of the eight-page paper, which is published in Turkmen and Russian, featured on its front page an article written by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov "congratulating Turkmen businessmen for publishing their own newspaper and promising his full support to private entrepreneurs," Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Image: Central Asia newswire
According to the State News Agency of Turkmenistan, the publication will cover the activities of the Union of Manufacturers and Entrepreneurs as well as stories of successful Turkmen businessmen. It will also provide information about domestic and foreign markets.

However, the periodicity of the newspaper or numbers about the copies distributed were not revealed.

In July, the Turkmen government announced it would allow the establishment of private newspapers. Until now, the country had five television channels, 25 newspapers, 15 magazines and one news agency, all of them state-owned.