OREANDA-NEWS. November 15, 2010. The mission of the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG) ended its visit to the Turkmen capital.

During the visit to Turkmenistan the EAG mission conducted a series of meetings at several ministries and departments to discuss the approaches to expanding constructive cooperation in several fields as consistent with the current reforms and changes in the country. In particular, the guests were received at the Mejlis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy and Development, the Central Bank, the State Customs Service, the State Insurance Organization, the Main State Tax Service, the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange and the law enforcement agencies.

During the meetings the EAG mission members noted that in the short period of time Turkmenistan had made the obvious progress in building the national framework to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism and been rightfully recognized as a state for free-risk financial transactions. Underscoring the significance of the measures taken in this field on the initiative of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the guests expressed belief that the decision on the membership of Turkmenistan in the EAG, adopted at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Plenary meeting this June in Amsterdam, would facilitate integration of the Turkmen state in the international financial system.

As is known, Turkmenistan actively contributes to addressing burning problems facing humanity nowadays and takes effective steps to ensure peace, security, stability and sustainable development in the region. As a signatory to many international instruments including the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the UN Convention against Corruption the Government of Turkmenistan stands steadfast to its commitments. A critical step in this field was the adoption of the Law of Turkmenistan “On Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism” in 2009.

On the last day of the visit to the Turkmen capital, the EAG mission held a meeting in the Department of Financial Monitoring of the Ministry of Finance, which played a key role in building the institutional foundations of the national framework to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism. Exchanging views and focusing on the need to further concert international efforts to counter global threats and challenges, the intention to foster productive partnership, including through implementing joint projects, was confirmed.