OREANDA-NEWS. June 09, 2011.  Reforms taking place in the epoch of new Revival in various sectors of Turkmen economy continue to draw attention of the world’s financial institutions. That is illustrated by the outcomes of a visit of the IMF mission led by Mrs. Veronica Bacalu, Deputy Division Chief in the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department.

During the two-week visit to Ashgabat the IMF mission held consultations with the Government of Turkmenistan and had a number of meetings in at Turkmen ministries and departments, where they discussed the issues related to the state of Turkmen economy and the economic prospects for the short and medium terms and reviewed the progress and results of the ongoing changes in this sphere initiated by President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov as consistent with his policy of large-scale reforms in all spheres of life of the country. Moreover, the IMF mission in collaboration with the Central Bank of Turkmenistan organized a presentation on global and regional economic development.

Like in December 2010, the IMF experts evaluated highly the ongoing economic and financial reforms in our country and focused on the significance economic progress. Also, they stated with satisfaction that the high rates of economic growth were expected in Turkmenistan in the future. Mrs. Veronica Bacalu dwelt on the outcomes of the visit and the vision of the current stage and prospects for economic development of Turkmenistan in her statement.

Mrs. Veronica Bacalu underlined in her statement that the economy of Turkmenistan performed strongly in 2010 and in the first months of 2011, supported by growing hydrocarbon exports and public investment. The economy continued to benefit from the effects of the exchange rate unification in 2008 and the subsequent monetary reform through a stable exchange rate, improved access to foreign exchange, and increased support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

According to the IMF mission “the near-term growth outlook is favourable, with rising gas exports and continued public spending growth. This outlook provides a solid foundation for accelerating current economic reforms to achieve the government’s objectives of diversifying the economy and increasing the role of the private sector. She noted that the adoption of new banking legislation and international financial reporting standards in banks would promote achieving the goal. The simplification of taxation and registration for SMEs will benefit private sector development.”

The IMF mission stated with satisfaction that “considerable resources were being allocated for social safety nets and the related infrastructure in Turkmenistan. Ms. Veronica Bacalu underlined that the mission welcomed the intention of the Government of Turkmenistan to strengthen the current social system through enhanced targeting and increased efficiency of social spending for the benefit of Turkmen people.”

In general, the IMF mission believed that the reform process in Turkmenistan went on in a right way and the prospects of rapidly increasing public resources would provide an opportunity to speed up the economic development of the country. “The efficient use of public resources will be critical to success, requiring sustained progress in public financial management and governance reforms”. The IMF mission welcomed the ongoing work aimed at bringing national statistics in line with international standards in the coming years.

The IMF representative confirmed the readiness of this large financial structure to continue cooperation with Turkmenistan to support implementation of social and economic national programmes and the efforts to improve macroeconomic management, promote fiscal reforms, strengthen the financial sector, and expand private sector activity to achieve long-run sustainable and inclusive growth.