Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 21
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
The participants of the international conference organized in Ashgabat June 20 with the participation of the UN Development Program (UNDP), in their final document welcomed the efforts of Turkmenistan to improve the system of public finance and stressed the importance of fiscal regulation to improve the mobilization of domestic financial resources.
The forum also supported the need to strengthen international cooperation in tax matters, as well as in the fight against illegal financial flows and asset recovery to promote sustainable development, says the message released by UNDP.
The international forum was organized to discuss financing for development in Turkmenistan. The event was attended by about 200 representatives of international organizations, international financial institutions, leading banks and transnational companies, experts, heads and representatives of ministries and agencies, and banking institutions of Turkmenistan.
The meeting noted the success of Turkmenistan in nationalizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as the establishment of a national coordination mechanism for implementation, monitoring and reporting on the SDGs, including the decision to submit the first voluntary national review on the implementation of the SDGs at the high-level political forum in 2019, the document says.
The conference participants also supported the efforts of Turkmenistan in raising funds for the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline and expressed confidence that this project will solve the issues related not only to energy supply, but will create conditions for the prosperity of the entire region. In addition, the forum discussed the benefits of investing in the sustainable development goals and encouraged the UN to continue research and analysis on the relationship and impact of investments in priority development areas (accelerators), including expansion of capabilities of children, youth and women and benefit from them.
It was also noted that a vital condition for achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals is to invest in quality, accessible, affordable, reliable and sustainable infrastructure, including transport, energy, water and sanitation for all. The difficulties faced by developing countries in terms of efficiency of public investment and ensuring the debt sustainability were noted. Turkmenistan holds a key position in the region for natural gas supplies - the main importer of which is China.
Athe same time, Russia, a traditional buyer, stopped purchasing Turkmen gas in 2016. Against this background, the Turkmen entrepreneurs began to experience difficulties due to the restrictions of currency conversion.
Turkmenistan has embarked on a gradual transition to a market economy, which is reflected in the Constitution. At this stage, the regulatory framework is being created, commodity and raw materials, and currency exchanges, and labor exchange are formed, and conditions for free wholesale trade are being created. The goals were set for the establishment of other institutions of market infrastructure, including commodity market, stock market, securities market, and information, advisory and audit centers in the country.