BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 3
By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:
The economy of Turkmenistan is already feeling the effects of the pandemic, as it is exposed to the economic shock via the trade and investment channels, Head of Eurasia Division at Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) William Tompson told Trend.
The decline in investment and export earnings may have an impact on domestic consumption, finances and remittances in the country, Tompson said.
Tompson pointed out that despite the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) forecast for Turkmenistan, which shows positive growth for the country this year, growth might stall in 2020.
Earlier, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief for Turkmenistan Natalia Tamirisa said that projected real GDP for Turkmenistan stands at 1.8 percent and inflation - at 8 percent in 2020. She added that for 2021, Turkmenistan’s real GDP growth is forecasted to be 6.4 percent.
So far, Turkmenistan has reported no coronavirus cases. Meanwhile, the country has set up an Emergency Commission to Combat the Spread of Diseases. Furthermore, in order to prevent coronavirus outbreak, Turkmenistan joined the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), which plans to draw on relevant data from existing mechanisms, such as the Medicines Patent Pool and the UN Technology Bank-hosted Technology Access Partnership.
Recently, Turkmenistan proposed to consider the possibility of creating new international legal mechanisms within the UN aimed at ensuring the stable functioning of international transport and transit corridors during emergencies.
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