This report was prepared in the Eurasia Division of the OECD Global Relations and Co-operation Directorate (GRC), under the overall direction of Mr Andreas Schaal, Director of the OECD Global Relations and Co-operation and with the thorough review of Mr William Tompson, Head of the OECD Eurasia Division. The report was supervised by Mr Grégory Lecomte, Senior Policy Analyst and Head of the Central Asia Unit, and co-ordinated by Ms Céleste Laporte Talamon, Policy Analyst, OECD Eurasia Division.
The lead author of this report is Mr Daniel Poloyko, Policy Analyst in the OECD Eurasia Division, with guidance and significant analytical support provided by Ms Céleste Laporte Talamon. Ms. Ryskul Iskakova, former Policy Analyst, designed the private sector survey, analysed the results, organised the first workshop in Ashgabat, and provided the initial drafts of the chapters.. Ms Anna Chahtahtinsky and Ms Elisa Larrakoetxea, Programme Administrators in the OECD Eurasia Division, provided unfailing administrative and logistical support.
The OECD is also grateful to representatives of the public and private sectors, business associations, development partners, and other stakeholders who provided valuable inputs during numerous discussions and through the responses to the survey disseminated by the OECD.
The work was made possible thanks to close interactions with the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan. The OECD would like to thank in particular Ms Galina Romanova, Head of the Consolidated Directorate of Public Finance and Economic Policy, Mr Ata Chapayev, Head of the Department of Development and Finance of the Sectors of the Economy, and Mr Ashirali Gurbanniyazov, Head of the Department for the Development of the Non-State Sector of the Economy, the Regulation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), for their valuable comments. Mr Maksat Chariev, Ambassador of Turkmenistan to France and Mr Merdan Ergeshov, Third Secretary at the Embassy of Turkmenistan to France, ensured smooth communication with Ashgabat. The OECD also conveys its appreciation to Ms Svetlana Bairamova of the EU Delegation to Turkmenistan for her invaluable support in facilitating bilateral meetings and in-country workshops.
The present report was greatly improved by the numerous comments from colleagues within the OECD. The team is particularly grateful for the comments and guidance from its reviewers: Mr Alexander Böhmer, Head of the South Asia - South-East Asia Division of the OECD’s Global Relations and Co-operation Directorate, and Mr Alexandre De Crombrugghe, Head of the Investment Promotion and Facilitation Team in the OECD Investment Division. Mr Eric Livny, Head of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Resident office in Turkmenistan and Mr Daniil Maykovskiy, Business Director at the MCT Agency, both provided valuable inputs and suggestions.
Finally, this work would not have been possible without financial and diplomatic support of the European Union. The OECD is grateful to the EU for its valuable support during working group events in Turkmenistan. In particular, the OECD would like to thank Mr Johannes Baur, Head of Co-operation, and Ms Ewa Żukowska, Programme Manager, both at the Delegation of the EU to Kazakhstan, as well as Ms Beata Pęksa, Ambassador, and Mr Borislav Dimitrov, Programme Manager, both at the Delegation of the EU to Turkmenistan.