OREANDA-NEWS. October 16, 2009. A mission of Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) comprising Ms. Meg Lundsager, Messrs. Age Bakker, Ambroise Fayolle, HE Jianxiong, Thomas Moser, and Klaus D. Stein issued the following statement on October 15, 2009 in Ashgabat at the conclusion of its visit to Turkmenistan:

“We are grateful for the opportunity to visit the country and thank the people of Turkmenistan. Our visit has provided us with the opportunity to learn more about the country. We met with heads and senior officials from the government and the central bank, as well as other stakeholders, including representatives of the private sector. This will contribute to our understanding in the IMF Executive Board, in assessing and discussing the challenges of the Turkmenistan and the IMF’s policy advice.

“With its substantial reserves and no external debt, Turkmenistan has been little affected by the global crisis. The macroeconomic outlook for 2009 remains favorable. The external current account and the budget are expected to remain in surplus, allowing for the continued accumulation of international reserves and fiscal savings.

“Higher future revenue from gas exports are expected to further strengthen the country’s fiscal and external positions. This positive outlook provides a great opportunity to deepen and accelerate the economic reforms, which were initiated in 2008 with the successful unification of the exchange rate.

“We welcome the recent steps taken to improve the functioning of foreign exchange system, management of public finance, and operation of the banking system. These measures together with the strong fiscal and external positions provide favorable conditions for deepening and accelerating reforms conducive to sustainable economic development.

“We support the IMF continuing excellent relationship with the Turkmen authorities.”