Turkmen delegation held talks in Switzerland with world financial institutions
In the Swiss city of Bad Ragaz, from July 3 to 6, a meeting of delegates of the founding countries of the representative group of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Poland, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, the Swiss Confederation) is being held on the occasion of celebration of the 30th anniversary since its creation.
The Turkmen delegation includes representatives of the government, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, and the Central Bank.
As part of this event, the Turkmen side met with the Vice President of the World Bank, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, with the Minister of Finance of Switzerland and with Chairman of the Central Bank of Switzerland, Thomas York.
Thus, at a meeting with Vice-President of the World Bank Anna Bjerde, issues of the implementation of the project “Response to Covıd-19”, implemented with the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan, were discussed. The World Bank noted the positive dynamics of the project implementation; at present, 70% of the first tranche transferred has already been disbursed.
The WB Vice-President also noted the timely repayment of interest on this loan. Bjerde noted the readiness of the World Bank to continue work on further purchases of reagents, medicines for the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan.
At the meeting, it was noted that it is necessary to start work on the second stage of the project for the development of horticulture. In connection with the start of transport links with Turkmenistan, it became possible to receive World Bank experts to get acquainted with the state of the horticultural sector in Turkmenistan, which in turn will give a new impetus to the practical implementation of this project.
During the meeting with representatives of the World Bank, it was expressed readiness to assist Turkmenistan in joining the World Trade Organization, including through assistance in improving legislation in the field of foreign economic activity and foreign investment.
Also, WB representatives proposed to conduct analytical work on the energy sector of Turkmenistan and on the possibilities of implementing energy projects in the region.
At a meeting with Chairman of the Central Bank of Switzerland, Thomas York, issues of cooperation on cybersecurity and the use of financial technologies in the banking sector were discussed. The Swiss side offered to take part in a seminar dedicated to these issues, which is planned to be held on November 15-16 this year in Zurich, and to work out a plan of cooperation for the future in more detail.
At a meeting with IMF Managing Director Kristina Georgieva and Head of the IMF Department for the Middle East and Central Asia Jihad Azur, it was noted that the key issue at present is inflation, which affects the slowdown in economic growth in the world. Attention was also drawn to the implementation of economic reforms, including in the field of economic statistics, digitalization, food security and diversification of the energy sector.
An important area is the implementation of system-forming measures in the field of climate change. Turkmenistan is implementing measures in the field of the Paris Agreement, it is necessary to continue this important work, in this regard, the IMF is ready to provide technical assistance in various areas, including through the IMF regional center in Kazakhstan.
At a meeting with Swiss Finance Minister Uli Mauer, issues of the implementation of the Memorandum of Cooperation signed in 2016 were discussed. The parties agreed to work out such issues as interaction on the FATF platform (Intergovernmental Commission on Financial Monitoring), assistance in Turkmenistan's accession to the WTO, etc.
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