Turkmenistan considers entry to WTO

By Trend

Turkmenistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Rashid Meredov met with Regional Coordinator for Central Asia of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Dmitry Godunov in Ashgabat to discuss the issue of the stages of the country's entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Trend reports referring to Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The parties also discussed promotion of investments, modernizing the customs service, transport and logistics sectors, the ministry said.

In recent years, Turkmenistan has been implementing a number of measures in cooperation with international structures to improve legislation and simplify trade procedures with a focus on WTO mechanisms. A government commission was also created for this purpose.

After admission to WTO, the state will have preferential treatment by all international organizations, and economic benefits will be provided.

The accession to WTO will also facilitate the development of those areas in which Turkmenistan is the most competitive in world markets. In particular, these are hydrocarbon resources, which are now estimated at 71.2 billion tons of oil equivalent.

At the same time, Turkmenistan's energy strategy is not limited to oil and gas exports. The construction of new gas and oil processing production facilities is the priority component of the national energy strategy.