On 12 April 2022 the Joint European Union / Council of Europe Project “Promoting Transparency and Action against Economic Crime” (CA TAEC) organised a coordination meeting with the national authorities of Turkmenistan to present and discuss technical support activities for the current year as well as identify additional assistance needs in the field of anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). The event was marked by the recent approval of the project’s annual plan of activities by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan in coordination with relevant beneficiary authorities.
Representatives of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Economy, Ministry of Justice, Financial Monitoring Service (FIU), National Bank of Turkmenistan, Civil Service Academy and Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs attended the meeting and contributed to the discussion.
H.E. Mr Diego Ruiz Alonso, EU Ambassador to Turkmenistan, addressed the participants during the opening session, highlighting the importance of the close coordination process among the authorities of Turkmenistan and the Council of Europe and EU in the delivery of technical assistance.
The event facilitated an exchange of opinions between the project team and the national authorities of Turkmenistan on support activities to further consolidate the anti-corruption system and AML/CFT framework in Turkmenistan as well as the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs and corporate compliance tools in the business sector.
In cooperation with the national authorities of Turkmenistan, the project plans to carry out a comprehensive set of activities, including legislative/regulatory and strategic reviews, risk assessments, capacity building and training activities in the following fields:
- Strengthening business integrity and transparency;
- Reducing administrative barriers for entrepreneurs and promoting the respect of entrepreneurs’ rights;
- Improving the capacities of authorities to prevent corruption through policy advice in the field of anti-corruption reform;
- Enhancing the capacities of law enforcement authorities to tackle corruption, money laundering and economic crime;
- Strengthening the national system to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.
The project team and the national authorities of Turkmenistan will continue their joint work and cooperation in discussing further implementation steps and country priorities in the above-mentioned intervention areas.
This coordination meeting was organised in the framework of the project “Promoting Transparency and Action against Economic Crime” within the Central Asia Rule of Law Programme 2020-2023, which is a joint initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the latter. The project is aimed at strengthening capacities to fight and prevent economic crime in five Central Asian countries, including Turkmenistan.