EBRD Says Turkmenistan Progressed Economically

PRAGUE -- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) transition report for 2008 says that Turkmenistan has made progress in carrying out economic reforms, though the country still has a long way to go in reforming and growing its private sector.

Heike Harmgart, an EBRD economist and delegation head for Turkmenistan, told RFE/RL's Turkmen Service that "the gas export price has developed very positively for Turkmenistan, [and] that actually supports the overall growth forecast for Turkmenistan" and its GDP growth forecast.

Harmgart added that the key challenge for Turkmenistan to reach its growth potential lies in private-sector reforms and reform of the banking sector.