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Background and History
Turkmenistan is a member of the World Bank Group (WBG) since 1992, and in 1996 the WBG opened its office in Turkmenistan. Since then, at the request of the Government, the WBG has implemented a number of projects, programs and studies, and extended three loans to Turkmenistan. The Bank has helped Turkmenistan with reforms in areas such as public resource management, financial transparency, public procurement, International Accounting Standards, public transport system, water and sanitation improvement.
More recent Bank activities in Turkmenistan included work on Statistical Capacity Building, Civil Society Fund Program, Avian Influenza Control and Human Pandemic Preparedness and Response, Accounting and Auditing Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC), the modernization of the Hydrometeorology committee, an anti-money-laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) legal framework together with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), transport and logistics issues, and international experience in the ports sector.
Recent Engagement
Interim Strategy Note FY14-15
In 2013, the WBG and Turkmenistan prepared the Interim Strategy Note (ISN), which guided WBG’s cooperation with the country during fiscal years 2014-2015. Within the ISN framework, relevant international knowledge and expertise have been brought to Turkmenistan to help the government address selected issues related to the country’s overall development priorities. It included two components: (a) a small Reimbursable Advisory Services (RAS) program focused on activities in three areas—macroeconomic statistics, financial sector development, and IFC support for privatization; and (b) several WBG-financed strategic studies designed to provide an analytical framework for further elaboration of the country’s reform priorities.
Country Engagement Note FY16-17
Currently, the WBG and Turkmenistan are in the process of preparing a new Country Engagement Note (CEN)1 for the period covering fiscal years 2016–17. The CEN will continue to focus on sharing with Turkmen authorities the international knowledge, experiences and best practices in several areas relevant to Turkmenistan’s growth and integration into the global economy. The CEN may include follow-up activities in the areas of current engagement as well as potential additional activities in new areas such as: support to competitive industries (including agriculture); financial sector modernization; improved skills in support of innovation; climate change/water resource management; and the connectivity agenda.
Similar to the ISN, the process of CEN preparation will rely on the consultations with a wide range of stakeholders, including Government agencies, donor community, civil society, private sector and others. The CEN preparation process will include in-country face-to-face meetings and virtual consultations.
The consultations with the government agencies represent a continued collaborative process to ensure that the CEN activities fully reflect the development needs of the government in the reform process. The agreed proposed activities will be presented to the wide group of government partners and the private sector during the in-country consultations meeting planned for early May 2015, which will bring together the WBG staff and all government partners. The overall structure of the CEN, as well as sector activities, will be presented to collect any further comments, suggestions and address any concerns.
The process of consultations with the civil society and other stakeholders is continued throughout the entire CEN preparation. In addition to face-to-face consultation meetings planned during May 11-13, 2015 a dedicated web-page has been created to keep the civil society and general public aware of the entire CEN process and present the main areas proposed for the strategy for discussion and comments. Any organization or individual may send suggestions and comments regarding the proposed activities or the CEN preparation process in general to the dedicated email address: tm_isn@worldbank.org.
Comments will be accepted throughout the consultations period until June 10, 2015.
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1 In 2014, the World Bank Group introduced a new approach to country engagement - the Country Partnership Framework (CPF). This new approach aims to make our country-driven engagement model more systematic, evidence-based, selective and focused on the goals of ending extreme poverty and increasing shared prosperity in a sustainable manner. The CPF takes the place of the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) and guides the Bank Group's support to a member country.
The Country Engagement Note, a short focused note that describes a short-term engagement, is used while the WBG develops activities with medium-term impact. A CEN is normally prepared for a period of 12 to 24 months. It may be followed by another CEN if the WBG remains unable to define detailed objectives, develop a program or engage at significant scale in the medium term.