Turkmen officials and a representative from the International Monetary Fund met in Ashgabat, weeks after the IMF concluded that Turkmenistan breached its obligations as a member country by not providing key data.
Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not mention the IMF’s September finding in a statement about the meeting on October 28, saying that the two sides discussed “prospects” for further cooperation. It said the lead participants in the meeting were Ahmet Gurbanov, deputy foreign minister, and Anna Bordon, head of the IMF’s mission for Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.
“The sides emphasized the importance of cooperation with international financial institutions in the context of strengthening macroeconomic stability, improving economic mechanisms and exploring modern approaches to addressing current economic challenges,” the Turkmen ministry said.
On September 11, the IMF Executive Board said Turkmenistan had breached its obligations as a member country by failing to provide data “necessary for the IMF’s activities.”
The board said “Turkmenistan has not provided key required data, including information on international reserve assets, official holdings of gold and foreign exchange, and a complete balance of payments.”
It said the failure to provide the data “could not be explained by a lack of capacity” and that the board would meet within six months to review Turkmenistan’s progress in rectifying the situation.
The Washington-based IMF requires its 191 member countries to provide such data for economic surveillance, policy analysis, and the assessment of potential vulnerabilities.
Turkmenistan, which is estimated to have the world’s fourth-largest proven reserves of natural gas, does not have a loan program with the IMF. However, IMF technical experts have assisted the Ministry of Finance in areas including budgeting. The IMF said in June that it projected economic growth in Turkmenistan to moderate to about 2.4 percent this year, “reflecting capacity constraints in the hydrocarbon sector and persistent structural inefficiencies associated with the large state footprint in the economy.”
Turkmenistan has sought to expand tourism and increase diplomatic and economic contacts. But it remains a highly controlled state, and it can be difficult for outsiders to obtain economic and other information about the country.
