Agriculture, the largest sector of the economy, is still unreformed and may actually have declined over the past few years. The limiting factor is the scarcity of water resources. Turkmenistan has large deposits of oil and gas, and is able to finance its economic polices through gas sales, most of which are still to Russia and other NIS countries. Convertibility problems top the list of business-related problems for foreign investors. The official exchange rate, required for foreigners, is roughly a fourth of the black-market rate.
Foreign firms convert the local currency, the manat, into hard currency with substantial losses.
Official corruption is another obstacle to foreign investment, and is fueled by the double exchange rate. U.S. Government-funded humanitarian assistance is targeted at vulnerable groups such as the elderly, the disabled, and disaster victims. Over 1,500 members of some 200 Turkmen NGOs and civic groups participated in Counterpart training programs in FY 2000. This cooperation has provided training in new methods for Ashgabat's family physicians in primary health care. Visit our contact page to find the appropriate resource.