08.04.2021

Peter Leonard

The scale of the current crisis may be making IFIs rethink their long-standing policy of uncritically relaying Turkmen government data.

Turkmenistan’s president beamed as he strode into the high-ceilinged halls of Ashgabat’s Rukhiyet Palace to a clatter of rhythmic applause from the attending officials.

It was February 12 and Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was set to deliver news of his nation’s latest triumph: economic victory over the COVID-19 storm.

“We have preserved our high pace of growth in the national economy,” he said, speaking from behind a sprawling white desk set against a giant wall-mounted carpet. “Last year, gross domestic product growth was 5.9 percent.”

That was only… >> подробнее

06.04.2021

Paul Goble

On Thursday, April 1, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his counterpart from Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov (photo).

Geopolitical competition over Central Asia is intensifying, with the two most prominent longstanding rivals, Russia and China, now confronted by the rising power of a third, Turkey. Thus, Moscow and Beijing have worked to limit Ankara’s influence in this landlocked region; but each has sought to do so without undermining its respective position across the region or derailing hopes for using Turkey for its own purposes, such as cultivating an anti-Western alliance. That combination means, first of all, that this competition is far from a zero-sum game for any of the participants, and so the… >> подробнее

19.03.2021

Akhal-Teke

Turkmenistan is on the hook for USD 1.35 billion in 2021 alone. The bill for 2022 is USD 1.1 billion, as is the one for 2023.

The president makes an unprecedented admission: Turkmenistan is deep in the red.

Watchers of Central Asian affairs are used to hearing about the teetering piles of debt weighing down Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Despite sitting on colossal energy reserves, Turkmenistan is no stranger to such worries.

President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov went public with his concerns in a March 11 cabinet meeting, although he was characteristically stingy with data.

He did give some sense of how much Turkmenistan borrows, however.

More than USD 8.8 billion in debt… >> подробнее