BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 1
By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:
In order to respond effectively to the current crisis, caused by COVID-19 pandemic it will be critical for Turkmenistan to crowd in the private sector’s potential, World Bank (WB) told Trend.
In particular it is necessary to provide private sector with the security and confidence of a business climate, within which entrepreneurs are prepared to decide on and implement investments, said the message.
“There is a considerable potential in increasing the quality and quantity of agricultural produce as means to increasing food self-reliance, provided that the country taps into ongoing developments of food production under the specific constraints of a hot and arid climate and the value chain of certification, food safety, storage, and food processing,” added the WB.
“To a large extent, the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified development priorities, in Turkmenistan as in many other countries, rather than creating substantially new challenges,” noted the message.
With the global recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts to address climate change and foster decarbonization, international market prices for hydrocarbons have remained low in 2020, the WB said.
“For an economy with large exports in natural gas, such as Turkmenistan, this situation is making even more urgent the need to diversify the non-hydrocarbon sectors of the economy, increase domestic self-reliance, and increase the competitiveness of products made in Turkmenistan,” the WB said.
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