Ministers of Economic Profile Met with IMF Middle East and Central Asia Department Director
Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili and Minister of Finance Lasha Khutsishvili met with Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department of the International Monetary Fund, who was on a working visit to Georgia.
According to the administration of the Ministry of Economics, the IMF Resident Representative for Georgia, Selim Chakir as well as Deputy Ministers and the Heads of Departments of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development attended the meeting.
The parties reviewed the issues related to cooperation between Georgia and the International Monetary Fund. The importance of the new three-year program aimed at further strengthening of macroeconomic stability, increasing medium-term growth prospects in the face of existing challenges in the region, promoting the continuation of structural reforms, including public finance management, state enterprise reforms and energy support schemes, was also covered during the meeting.
Georgian side informed the Director for the Middle East and Central Asia Department of the International Monetary Fund about the current situation in the country’s economy, indicators of economic growth for 5 months of the current year, as well as future forecasts. It was emphasized that Georgia has quite a successful experience in managing external shocks and despite the current geopolitical shock, by implementing an immediate and effective economic policy, the economy of Georgia maintains high rates of economic growth, sustainability and macroeconomic stability.
As Selim Chakir noted, the authorities have shown significant progress in the direction of strengthening the regulation and supervision of the financial sector. According to the Chakir, the IMF supports the economic program developed by the government, which is focused on reducing fiscal deficit, inflation and external vulnerabilities, as well as structural reforms necessary to boost growth.
At the end of the meeting, the parties confirmed readiness to continue cooperation in the process of implementing economic and structural reforms important for the country.
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EVENTS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE CENTRAL ASIA-REPUBLIC OF KOREA COOPERATION FORUM IN ASHGABAT
On November 1, 2023, a business forum of young entrepreneurs was held in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan within the framework of the 16th Cooperation Forum “Central Asia-Republic of Korea”.
The first session of the business forum was devoted to government support measures for the development of youth entrepreneurship in the countries of Central Asia and the Republic of Korea. Representatives of participating countries spoke about the national experiences and achievements in this area.
During the second session of the business forum, dedicated to the development of startup entrepreneurship and startup incubators, participants reviewed the activities of venture funds for launching innovative businesses.
There was also a thorough exchange of views between young entrepreneurs and businesspersons on introducing innovations into strategic areas of development based on the principles of “green economy” such as renewable energy, digital economy, biotechnology, robotics, smart cities, etc.
On the sidelines of the business forum, bilateral meetings and negotiations were also held between representatives of business circles from the countries of Central Asia and the Republic of Korea.
Apart from that, within the framework of the Forum, six thematic sessions were held in the relevant ministries and state agencies of Turkmenistan.
The first session “Transport and Logistics” was dedicated to the topic “Interconnectedness of the transport and logistics infrastructure of Central Asia and the Republic of Korea: challenges and opportunities”.
In the second session “Healthcare and Medicine” were discussed the priorities for the development of rehabilitation medicine and the healthcare system in Central Asia.
The third session “Climate change and environmental protection” was held on the topic “Climate, Water, Food and Energy Nexus: Climate Change Adaptation, Water Management and Climate Smart Agriculture”.
The fourth session “Information and Communication Technologies” discussed issues of e-government and e-services, including prospects for using ICT to improve the provision of public services and interaction with citizens.
The fifth session “Education and Science” was devoted to innovative processes in science and education, with an emphasis on the opportunities and prospects for cooperation between the states of Central Asia and the Republic of Korea.
In the sixth session “Tourism” attention was paid to aspects of the development of sustainable tourism under the general motto “Revival of the Great Silk Road”.
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On October 31, 2023, a meeting of the Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the heads Foreign Ministries of the Central Asian states was held in the the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, during which a thorough exchange of views took place on the most important topics of regional security, sustainable development and stability. Particular attention of the participants was paid to border security, climate change and ecology, as well as transport links.
Speaking at the meeting, OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid noted that this forum is aimed at expanding and strengthening interaction in solving pressing problems in the region in each of the above dimensions. In this context, the need for joint activities of all Central Asian countries and relevant international structures was emphasized. At the same time, the important role of projects and measures provided by the OSCE in this process was outlined.
During the meeting, the Ministers exchanged views on specific issues and objectives of cooperation, described the steps taken by each of the Central Asian states in these areas, and also came up with a number of important ideas and proposals aimed at consolidating efforts to ensure regional security and stability.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan R. Meredov during his speech emphasized that reliable border security is the basis for maintaining peace and prosperity in the region.
As part of the discussion of climate change and environmental issues, the participants also expressed a common opinion on the need to take joint measures to interact in this direction.
The Turkmen side emphasized that environmental safety remains a priority area of international cooperation of our state, first of all, this concerns project activities on rational environmental management and sustainable management of water resources. In this regard, R.Meredov noted the importance of the practical implementation of the proposal of the Turkmen side to develop a draft OSCE Comprehensive Environmental Program.
The minister also called on the meeting participants to support Turkmenistan’s idea of establishing a specialized structure - the Regional Center for Climate Technologies. In this regard, it was proposed to hold the OSCE Forum on Climate Change Technologies.
Turkmenistan also advocates promoting the initiative of the OSCE Secretary General to hold regular meetings with the ministers for environmental protection of Central Asian countries. As is known, the first such meeting within the framework of the Climate Conference in July of this year showed that this format is timely and in demand. In this regard, the Turkmen side expressed its readiness to host the next meeting of this format in 2024 in Turkmenistan.
Another pressing issue on the agenda was strengthening cooperation in a key segment of global development - sustainable transport. The participants noted the wide opportunities for consolidated actions in this direction, first of all, this concerns issues of stimulating transport links along the East-West routes.
The Turkmen side drew special attention of the participants to the initiative of the President of Turkmenistan to create a Central Asian transport and logistics platform, voiced at the fifth Consultative Meeting of the Leaders of Central Asian Countries in September this year in Dushanbe, which will allow optimizing routes and procedures, accelerating the transportation of goods and passengers. With this in mind, it is proposed to use the potential of the OSCE in the implementation of this idea, which is promising for the entire region.
The meeting participants expressed their readiness to continue an active and constructive dialogue on issues of ensuring sustainable and safe development in the region.
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The fifth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia began in Dushanbe
The fifth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia began in Dushanbe.
The forum is attended by the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as well as the President of the Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev.
The agenda of the summit includes issues of developing cooperation in the political, diplomatic, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres. It is expected that the heads of state will pay special attention to expanding partnerships in fuel and energy, transport and communications and other areas.
Forum participants will also discuss issues of international and regional politics of mutual interest.
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The Turkmen delegation took part in the 9th regional meeting of the National Committees on Trade Facilitation in Central Asia in Tashkent. This is reported by the website of the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan.
The central theme of the event, organized within the framework of the project of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), was the discussion of trade facilitation issues. In particular, initiatives to digitalize trade procedures and improve access to information for the private sector were considered.
In this regard, representatives of the World Trade Center familiarized the participants with the work of Trading Portal, which was recently established in Turkmenistan.
Representatives of the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan together with experts of the International Union of Road Transport and employees of the State Customs Committee under the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Uzbekistan also visited the customs post "Yallama" on the Uzbek-Kazakh border.
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The Minister of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan Serdar Jorayev held a meeting with the Director of the Regional Center for the Development of the Potential of Countries for the Caucasus, Central Asia and Mongolia at the IMF, Norbert Funke, who arrived in Ashgabat at the head of the delegation of the Center.
The parties discussed new directions of further technical cooperation, which is designed to promote transformations in the field of finance in Turkmenistan and increase the potential of the national economy.
As reported, since 2021, representatives of the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan have participated in more than two dozen trainings of the Center, which were devoted to various issues. The participation was both online and in the traditional format.
Funke expressed satisfaction with the development of the Center's cooperation with Turkmenistan and informed about the availability of opportunities for expanding the range of technical cooperation. In this regard, the participants of the meeting exchanged relevant proposals.
The head of the Center noted that in addition to regional consultations, there is an opportunity to organize bilateral contacts, within the framework of which specialists will provide technical support to Turkmen colleagues on public finance management, revenue management and administration.
In general, the parties noted with satisfaction the existence of significant potential for further expansion of cooperation.
