World Bank Official Says Turkmenistan Moving Toward Privatization

A World Bank official says the Turkmen government plans to privatize 70 percent of its economy.

Robert Taliercio, a senior economist at the World Bank's Poverty Reduction and Economic Management section for Europe and Central Asia, told RFE/RL's Turkmen Service that the government has shown that it is interested in further developing its market economy.

He added that the government is currently working on strategies that would move the Turkmen economy toward that goal.

Taliercio said the Turkmen government's decision to unify currency-exchange rates last May was a significant step toward a more liberalized economy.