An international seminar on financing the implementation of sustainable development Goals initiated by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was held today at the Ministry of foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.

Major forum organized in format of video conference, brought together leaders of the financial sector of countries-participants of the UN Special program for the economies of Central Asia (SPECA): Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and representatives of the United Nations, including its structures, UNECE, UNFPA, UNDP, UNICEF etc.

Delegates from the International Monetary Fund, the world Bank, the Asian Development Bank, European Bank for reconstruction and development, Islamic development Bank, Organization for economic cooperation and development, the European Commission CAREC Institute, ESCAP participated in the discussion of an integrated national financial mechanisms of the SDG. 

The international seminar was organized by the Ministry of Finance and economy of Turkmenistan together with the relevant ministries and departments of the country, as well as the UN development Program and other agencies. The initiative to hold this event is based on the priority positions of Turkmenistan at the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, dictated by the high importance of providing financial resources for projects and programs aimed at achieving the 17 sustainable development Goals.

This workshop is an intermediate stage in the preparation for the global Conference on financing for development, scheduled for 2022-2023, and part of the implementation of activities in Turkmenistan within the framework of the Decade of action for achieving the SDG, initiated by the UN Secretary-General in 2020.

During the seminar, 4 sessions of structured topics were held.

• The first session addressed the outcomes of the 2020 ECOSOC forum on financing for development and international support for mitigating the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The second session presented and analyzed the experience of countries in the region in reducing the negative impact of the pandemic and in developing national integrated financing mechanisms.
• The third session continued the theme of the first with a focus on regional assistance in overcoming the socio-economic crisis caused by the pandemic, and the role of international financial institutions, their strategies and activities.
• The fourth session was devoted to sub-regional instruments for financing the SDG.

The workshop participants noted the need for urgent measures to address the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic crisis and support vulnerable groups. We are talking about expanding their social protection programs, investing in health care, education, etc.

Referring to the Ashgabat initiative to reduce barriers to trade and transport through the use of legal instruments, norms, standards and recommendations of the UN, while enhancing connectivity in the SPECA countries, the participants considered the development of international transport links.

In this regard, the initiative put forward by President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to create legal mechanisms to ensure sustainable and reliable international transport in emergency situations, as well as to hold an International conference of transport Ministers of landlocked developing countries, was supported.

Participants expressed their intention to consider options for establishing a Trust Fund of the UN Special program for the economies of Central Asia as a sub-regional instrument, calling on international financial institutions and the private sector to participate.

A high-level meeting on financing global development in the context of the global pandemic was held today under the auspices of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in which the leadership of the Ministry of Finance and economy of our country took part via video link.

They discussed the need for closer multilateral cooperation between the countries of the world, which President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov calls for in order to strengthen international peace and security, overcome the current global crisis and ensure economic, environmental, social and humanitarian development, the state news Agency of Turkmenistan reports.