On 28 March 2024, in the framework of the EU-funded Central Asia Invest programme, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) organised a seminar to present its latest publication assessing progress made in Improving the Legal Environment for Business and Investment in Central Asia, and discuss challenges to transport connectivity and policy responses for enhanced trade and integration across Central Asia based on its latest publications on Trade Facilitation in Central Asia and Realising the Potential of the Middle Corridor, produced with financial support from the Government of Kazakhstan and the Government of Lithuania respectively.
Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy Babaniyaz Yalakow opened the session by highlighting the government’s recent initiatives to improve both the business environment in and trade connectivity of Turkmenistan. Mr Yalakow detailed Turkmenistan’s recent reforms to simplify and digitalise trade procedures, in relation to its WTO accession commitments, and stressed the government’s commitment to a co-ordinated regional approach for the development of alternative trade routes.
Ms Amélie Schurich Rey, Economist and Policy Analyst in the Central Asia team of the OECD Eurasia Division, first presented the main findings and recommendations to further improve the business environment in Turkmenistan, based on the three priority areas identified in the previous 2020 assessment: the legal and regulatory framework for investment, business registration, and the operational environment for firms. Recommendations included the creation of an Investment Promotion Agency, and the creation of a Business Ombudsman, and the development of new financing tools for SMEs. These recommendations were supported by a discussion of regional case studies with participants.
Ms Schurich Rey then discussed progress on the OECD Trade Facilitation Indicators (TFIs) for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, while showing the partial results for Turkmenistan, which is being included in the TFIs for the first time. She highlighted that despite continued improvements in performance, Central Asia still faces substantial challenges, and falls behind most of the regions covered by the TFIs, notably in terms of access to documentation, digitalisation of procedures, and cross-border transport and customs infrastructure. Ms Schurich Rey also stressed that in the current context, enhanced regional co-operation appears to be the single most important driver for enhanced trade both at the intra- and inter-regional levels. She illustrated this with a discussion on how Central Asia can take advantage of the development of the Trans Caspian International Trade Route (also called the Middle Corridor) by advancing regional trade integration, infrastructure, trade facilitation, and supra-national co-ordination.
The presentations were followed by a discussion with participants, and the seminar was concluded by Deputy Minister Yalakow, who welcomed future work with the OECD on trade and transit development in Central Asia.
Media source: https://eu-cai.org/oecd-dissemination-seminar-on-the-business-environment-and-connectivity-in-turkmenistan/