Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 9
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
A meeting with representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been held at the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan, this local agency said in a statement.
The exchange of views on topical issues, in particular on the regulation of foreign currency has taken place, the message says.
"During the meeting, which has been held in a constructive atmosphere, the parties have discussed the latest economic reforms in Turkmenistan," the message says.
The parties expressed confidence that the further cooperation will develop successfully. In March 2018, the IMF, following the visit of its mission to Ashgabat, recommended Turkmenistan to ease foreign exchange regulation measures in regard to imports and other current international payments.
The IMF staff believes the main task of the economic policy of Turkmenistan in the short term is still involves taking measures for reduction of external imbalances. Given the size of the external deficit, the need for taking additional measures, in particular adjusting the exchange rate and further tightening the tax and budgetary and credit and monetary policy, should be considered, the staff of the IMF noted.
Turkmenistan holds one of the key positions in the region in terms of the supply of natural gas - China and Iran are importers. At the same time, Russia - the traditional buyer - stopped buying Turkmen gas in 2016. Against this background, the Turkmen entrepreneurs began to experience difficulties due to currency conversion restrictions. Turkmenistan headed for gradual transition to market economy, which was reflected in the Constitution.
At this stage, a number of activities were carried out: the denomination of the national currency was implemented, the country moved to international accounting standards in 2014. At the beginning of 2015, the Central Bank of Turkmenistan set the official exchange rate of the national currency at 3.5 manat per US dollar, which is still preserved.
