UNDP and State Bank for Economic Affairs of Turkmenistan hold first ever event on financing of Agenda 2030

PRESS-RELEASE

20 June 2018, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

In conjunction with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) nationalization process in Turkmenistan, the United Nations Development Programme and the State Bank for Economic Affairs (TFEB) are working to improve the access of Turkmenistan to international financing and to improve its capacity to deliver and manage such financing streams effectively.

As part of the joint initiative, on June 20, 2018, UNDP and TFEB held International Financing for Development Conference “Partnership for Development Financing at the Heart of the Great Silk Road”that brought together over 150 partners from ministries and state agencies, international financial institutions that have an interest in the country, private entities and commercial banks who are potential investors in the country, as well as development experts from UNDP and other international organizations.

One of the purposes of the event is to create a joint understanding of the country’s sustainable development priorities, the related financing needs and the various options that exist for mobilizing such resources, especially from international financial institutions and private capital.

As part of the Financing for Development Conference, participants considered some specific ongoing development and infrastructure projects in Turkmenistan, such as construction of the TAPI gas pipeline, which contribute to the sustainable development of the region of Central Asia and South Asia.

The participants of the conference noted with satisfaction the successes of Turkmenistan in nationalizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as the establishment of a national coordination mechanism for the implementation, monitoring and reporting of the SDGs, including the decision to submit the first voluntary national review on the SDG implementation at the High-level Political Forum in 2019.

“Getting financing right will be critical to meet the SDGs by 2030. While there is no shortage of resources in the global economy, we need partnerships, sound planning, leadership and some creative ideas of looking at financing streams for development,” stated RastislavVrbensky, UNDP Deputy Regional Director for Europe and the CIS at the conference.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan S. Berdimuhamedov noted in his speech that "the achievement of the goals of sustainable development is an ambitious task and requires cohesion and concrete joint actions. Partnership in this direction is very important. "

"Following strict adherence to the international obligations assumed, we declare with full responsibility our continued commitment to the widest and most active cooperation with Member States and international organizations, financial institutions, specialized agencies and United Nations structures," the Deputy Minister stressed.

The conference participants welcomed Turkmenistan's efforts to improve the public finance system and stressed the importance of fiscal regulation to improve the mobilization of domestic financial resources.

The sessions aimed to shed the light on government’s views on the issue of private sector development and diversification, and its priorities and measures for encouraging bilateral state and private investments for achieving Sustainable development agenda 2030.

As a result of the conference, the Final Document was adopted and a package of bilateral documents was signed.