WT/L/1090  
 
15 May 2020  
(20-3631) Page: 1/4 
  Original: English  
 
TURKMENISTAN – REQUE ST FOR OBSERVER STAT US 
 
COMMUNICATION FROM T URKMENISTAN  
 The following communication , dated 15 May 2020 , has been received from the Minister of 
Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.  
 
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 On behalf of the Government of Turkmenistan, I have the honour to submit Turkmenistan 's 
application for observer status in the General Council of the World Trade O rganization (WTO) and 
its subsidiary bodies.  
 
 In accordance with Annex 2 to the Rules of Procedure for Sessions of the Ministerial Conference 
and Meetings and of the General Council (WT/L/161), I would like to state that it is the intention of 
the Governm ent of Turkmenistan to initiate negotiations for accession to the WTO Agreement within 
a period of five years.  Therefore, the observer status would assist the Government to familiarize 
itself with the WTO rules and procedures, and to prepare for initiatio n of the accession negotiations.  
 
Let me also recall that Turkmenistan had previously been granted observer status by the 
GATT Council on 19 June 1992 (C/M/257), following its request on 5 June 1992 (L/7027), 
accompanied with information on the Trade and T ariff Regime of Turkmenistan (L/7157) . 
 
An overview of the economic policy and foreign trade regime of Turkmenistan is enclosed 
herewith.   
 
 I would be grateful if this application  could be placed  before the General Council,  as soon as 
possible,  for consid eration and decision . 
 
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OVERVIEW OF THE ECON OMIC POLICY AND FORE IGN TRADE REGIME OF TURKMENISTAN  
This overview accompanies the request from Turkmenistan for obtaining an observer status 
at the World Trade Organization (WTO), in accordance with Annex 2 to the Rules of Procedure for 
sessions of the Ministerial Conference and Meetings of the WTO General Council.  
I. THE COUNTRY  
1. Turkmenistan is a state in Central Asia, which borders Kazakhstan to the northwest, 
Uzbekistan to the north  and east, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, 
and the Caspian Sea to the west. Turkmenistan gained its independence in October 1991 with the 
dissolution of the USSR. In March 1992, it became a member of the United Nations (UN). Detailed 
information on Turkmenistan: its history, geographical setting and constitutional order is available 
at: https://www.mfa.gov.tm . 
2. In term of landmass, Turkmenistan is the second largest of the five Central Asian countries: 
its total land area is 491.2 thousand square kilometres, of which approximately 80% is covered by WT/L/1090  
 
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  desert. The Amyderya River i s the main source of potable water, running along the eastern border 
between Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.  
3. Turkmenistan is divided into five administrative provinces (velayats): Akhal, Balkan, Lebap, 
Mary and Dashoguz, each consisting of severa l districts (etraps). Ashgabat is the capital and the 
largest city of Turkmenistan, located in the southern part of the country. The main sea  port of 
Turkmenistan is the city of Turkmenbashi on the Caspian Sea.  
4. The current population of Turkmenistan is more than 6.2 million, with some one million 
residing in the capital city – Ashgabat. The  population consists of Turkmens, Uzbeks, Russians, 
Azerbaijanis, Kazakhs, Armenians and representatives of other nationalities.  
5. The official language of Turkmenistan is Turkmen. In accordance with the National Concept 
on "Improving the Teaching of Foreign Languages " of 2017, the educational institutions of 
Turkmenistan ensure learning of three languages – Turkmen, English and Russian.  
6. The country is rich in natural resour ces, mainly in oil and natural gas. It has the 4th largest 
deposit of natural gas in the world. In 2018, Turkmenistan's GDP per capita was US$ 7,065.  
II. STATE ORDER, DOMESTI C POLICIES AND FOREI GN RELATIONS  
7. Turkmenistan is a democratic, law -based, secular state. The form of government is a 
presidential republic. The Government of Turkmenistan is formed in accordance with the Constitution 
of Turkmenistan (adopted on 18 May 1992 and revised on 14 September 2016), which is the main 
law of the State. Turkmenist an's state structure is based on the principle of separation of powers 
into legislative, executive and judicial branches, which act independently and balance each other. 
Constitutionally fixed norms and provisions are directly applicable. Laws and other le gal acts that 
contradict the Constitution have no legal force.  
8. The President of Turkmenistan is the Head of the State. He chairs the Government of 
Turkmenistan (Cabinet of Ministers). The President of Turkmenistan is the guarantor of: the 
country's indepen dence, neutral status and territorial integrity; respect for the Constitution; and 
fulfilment of international obligations. The most recent Presidential elections were held on 
12 February 2017, as a result of which incumbent President Gurbanguly Berdimuham edov was 
elected for a period of seven years. Legislative power in Turkmenistan is exercised by the supreme 
representative body: the Mejlis (Parliament) of Turkmenistan, which consists of 125 members, 
elected for a term of 5 years. Judicial power is exerci sed solely by the courts.  
9. Neutrality is the guiding principle of Turkmenistan's foreign policy. On 12 December 1995, the 
UN General Assembly (A/RES/50/80) recognized Turkmenistan as a permanently neutral State. 
The main objectives of Turkmenistan's foreign  policy are the: (i) preservation and strengthening of 
its sovereignty and increasing its role and importance in the international system; (ii) creation of 
favourable foreign political conditions for the internal development of the state; (iii) upholding a nd 
implementing its national interests by means of international practice and diplomatic contacts; (iv) 
ensuring its security by political  and diplomatic means; (v) development of constructive  and mutually 
beneficial cooperation with all international part ners on the basis of equality and mutual respect; 
and (vi) ensuring the full compliance of Turkmenistan's foreign policy actions with international law 
and the UN Charter.  
10. At present, Turkmenistan has diplomatic relations with 148 countries.  
11. Turkmenistan i s a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank since 
1992. Turkmenistan is a member of 48 international organizations and a party to 154 international 
conventions, treaties and other multilateral documents. Turkmenistan has bilatera l free trade 
agreements with Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russian Federation, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.  
III. THE ECONOMY  
12. The objective of the Government of Turkmenistan is to continue the transformation of 
Turkmenistan into a modern, efficient and competit ive economy, contributing to the regional 
economy development in Central Asia and Eurasia. The main objective of economic policy is to WT/L/1090  
 
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  improve the welfare of its citizens, through domestic economic transformation, diversification, 
achieving of Sustainable Development Goals, and trade expansion for rapid growth. Important 
strategic sectors of the economy of Turkmenistan are oil and gas, petrochemical complex, chemical 
industry, textile industry, transport and communications, agriculture and others.  
13. Today , the Turkmen economy continues to adjust to a challenging external environment, 
including persistently low natural gas prices and slower growth in trading partners. Growth was 6.3% 
in 2019, supported by rising natural gas exports, and expansionary finance and  credit policies. 
Inflation (consumer price index) in 2019 was 6.5%. The overall investment rate in the economy was 
22.6% of GDP. Going forward, economic activity will be supported by a number of factors, including 
operation of already launched innovative production facilities for gas processing, electric power 
industry, as well as other planned large -scale projects.  
14. The currency of Turkmenistan is the Turkmen Manat (TMT). As of March 2020, the official 
exchange rate is 3.50 Manat for 1 US$.  
15. In the country there is a two-level banking system, consistent of the Central Bank and 
commercial banks. The Central Bank was established in 1991.  
16. The banking sector of Turkmenistan is dominated by six state banks specializing in different 
economic sectors: the State Ban k for Foreign Economic Affairs (foreign trade and project finance), 
Dayhanbank (agricultural sector), Turkmenbashy Bank (extraction and heavy industry, transport, 
telecommunications, construction and retail trade), Turkmenbank (public sector,  including 
education, healthcare, light industry, pension payments and social security financing) and Halk Bank 
(services for population, including financing of mortgage lending). Other banks with commercial 
functions are also partly state -owned. There are several foreign commercial banks in the country: 
The Turkmen -Turkish Joint Stock Commercial Bank (jointly with Ziraat Bank), a branch of the 
National Bank of Pakistan, Representative Office of Deutsche bank and Representative Office of 
Commerz bank, and a branch of Saderat Bank of Iran.  
17. Agriculture, which accounts for about 10% of GDP, continues to employ nearly half of the 
country's workforce. More than 40% of Turkmenistan's labour force is involved in irrigation farming, 
predominantly of cotton and wheat. The territory of Turkmenistan i s mostly desert with only 3.7% 
of the land classified as arable, and less than 0.2% - planted to permanent crops. Most agricultural 
land requires irrigation, which is mainly carries water resources from the Amyderya River.  
18. The major agricultural crops in T urkmenistan are cotton, grains such as wheat and corn, fodder 
and forage crops. Turkmenistan also produces vegetables, fruits, melons, berries, mainly grapes and 
other agricultural products. Grains are grown primarily for domestic consumption. There is als o a 
certain potential to export grain.  
19. In the area of livestock, there are an estimated 2.5 million cattle, 20.8 million small livestock.  
20. The main objectives of the country's agricultural sector are to: meet the food needs of the 
population; provide the pr ocessing industry with raw materials; increase production efficiency; form 
new economic relations; and consistently strengthen food security.  
21. Turkmenistan has a great potential for the development of different sectors of chemical and 
petrochemical industri es, including the use of resources of already developed fields and industrial 
development of new deposits of chemical raw stock. However, although Turkmenistan possesses a 
solid resource base for industry, that base still needs to be utilised to build dive rsified industries.  
IV. FOREIGN TRADE AND IN VESTMENT REGIME  
22. Trade is important to Turkmenistan's economy . The combined value of exports and imports 
equals about 40% of GDP. Today , Turkmenistan has foreign trade relations with more than 
100 countries.  
23. There  are vast investment opportunities in a range of sectors such as roads and construction, 
telecommunication, agriculture, power generation, education and tourism. In  particular, 
Turkmenistan attaches a great importance to the development of transport and co mmunication WT/L/1090  
 
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  system (railways and roads, sea and river ports, pipelines) as an essential part of infrastructure for 
the sustainable development of the country's economy. One of the strategic objectives of the 
Government of Turkmenistan is to turn Turkmenist an into the large international transit -transport 
and telecommunication corridor.  
24. Turkmenistan implements a policy of diversification of its international cooperation, 
particularly in the energy sector, on the basis of an equal -partner access to the source s of Turkmen 
hydrocarbons and their means of delivery. This involves the creation of multivariate transportation 
pipeline infrastructure for the export of Turkmen energy resources to the international energy 
markets.  
25. The Government takes steady and consist ent specific steps to nurture an environment 
conducive to investment.  
26. Turkmenistan is in the process of improving and developing a trade policy of which the central 
purposes are to:  
• ensure rapid economic growth, based on diversification, competition, trade  openness and 
liberalization combined with appropriate companion domestic policies, aimed at attraction 
and promotion of foreign investments, respect for intellectual property and support for the 
private sector as an engine for growth ;  
• contribute to the p romotion of rapid and balanced regional development ;  
• contribute to and join in multilateral cooperative efforts for sustainable development ;  
• contribute to the reinforcement of the rules -based multilateral trading system ; and  
• assign continued high sectori al priority focus on:  
o infrastructure, particularly infrastructure for trade facilitation;  
o agricultural and rural development;  
o accountability and transparency in government for good governance;  
o education; health, sport;  
o social development; and 
o security .  
27. In January 2013, the Inter -Ministerial Commission was established by a Presidential Decree 
to examine issues related to Turkmenistan's possible accession to the WTO. Composition of the 
Commission was revised in 2019 to make its work more efficie nt. 
28. As the on -going process of policy formulation, enactment of laws and institutional 
development evolves, Turkmenistan would welcome the strong and sustained support from WTO 
Members.  
29. The development of the trade policy of Turkmenistan and its WTO negoti ations will be 
motivated by openness and non -discrimination to all WTO Members for trade and investment 
partnerships so as to grow the economy, transform Turkmenistan into a country with competitive 
economy, fully integrated into the rules -based multilater al trading system, and contributing to the 
regional economy of Central Asia and Eurasia. This work has only just begun and is in progress. The 
elaboration of the trade policy of Turkmenistan will be undertaken in an open, consultative process, 
assisted by its partners: the United Nations, WTO, World Bank, IMF and other international 
structures.  
 
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