WB, Turkmenistan eye cooperation program
World Bank Regional Director for Central Asia Saroj Kumar Jha held a meeting at the Turkmen Foreign Ministry, the Turkmen government reported.
The parties reviewed the implementation of cooperation programs and identified priorities for further cooperation. The trends and reforms to improve the investment climate of Turkmenistan, the strategy to expand access for financing private enterprises and entrepreneurs, the issues of strategy development of the financial sector were discussed within the framework of the cooperation program.
The World Bank Group (WBG) supports local reform through the interim strategy for the period of 2015. The interim strategy does not provide borrowings. The employees of the bank assist the government in the implementation of long-term national program of socio-economic development through consultations.
This is implemented by providing analytical and advisory services in the areas that have been identified jointly with the Turkmenistan government.
The strategy consists of two components.
The first focuses on activities in the areas proposed by the
government, such as
macroeconomic statistics, financial sector development and
development of
the private sector.
The second envisages a set of strategic analytical research conducted by the World Bank in the field of economic diversification, investment climate, privatization, and on issues related to the accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Turkmenistan joined the Bank in September 1992 and in 1996, the Bank established a Liaison Office in Ashgabat to enhance communications with the government and to provide operational support.
Turkmenistan is in a transitional stage of its development. An
article about the transition to the market relations has recently
appeared in the Turkmen updated constitution for the first
time.
The Caspian country is rich in natural gas. The export cotton and
corn volumes are stocked. But at this stage the economy is being
actively diversified. The textile industry and oil and gas
processing significantly advanced.
Turkmenistan conducted several reforms in monetary policy: the denomination of the national currency, exchange rate unification. The country has moved to the international accounting standards this year.