A two-day international forum on attracting foreign investments to the oil and gas complex of Turkmenistan ended in Ashgabat. The main goal of this important event dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan's independence and the 140th anniversary of Ashgabat was the desire to stimulate the interest of foreign partners in expanding cooperation with our country in the oil and gas sector.

 In his Address to the participants of the International Forum, the President of Turkmenistan noted that «the energy strategy of Turkmenistan is aimed at the comprehensive development of the fuel and energy complex and its systematic integration into the world energy system».

 The forum, which was held in physical and virtual format, was attended by international experts and key representatives of the global oil, gas and energy markets.

 The meetings on the sidelines of the forum made it possible to raise the level of awareness of potential investors about new investment projects in the oil and gas and gas chemical industry, the optimization of oil and gas production at mature fields, the development of offshore fields in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea, and would also serve to strengthen the regional dialogue on the further sustainable development of the energy  segment of the national economy.

 As noted, against the backdrop of the global movement towards zero emissions, strategies for assessing the «climate risk» in investments, in particular in relation to companies working with fossil fuels, have become relevant.  Particular attention was paid to trends in financing oil and gas projects and promoting clean energy.

 The Minister of Finance and Economy of the country Mukhammetgeldy Serdarov spoke about the main aspects of cooperation of Turkmenistan with international financial institutions. He also presented the Turkmenistan point of view on renewable energy sources, the country's transition to the use of modern environmentally friendly and resource-saving technologies in industry and transport, oil and gas and energy sectors.

 Eraj Shirvani, the representative of the largest Swiss financial conglomerate, Chairman of Emerging Markets Credit Suisse AG, spoke online at the session.  He focused on the downward trend in financing for oil and gas projects and increased investment in cleaner energy and green technologies in the fuel and energy sector, citing specific examples of lending to new zero-emission business models.

 A representative of the State Energy Institute of Turkmenistan spoke about the potential of solar and wind energy in Turkmenistan.

 Chang Ching Yu, Director of the ADB Representative Office in Turkmenistan, who was present at the Forum, spoke about the bank's strategies in the energy sector. Those included supporting the diversification of natural gas export markets and infrastructure modernization.

 “The supplies of Turkmen gas help to improve the environmental situation, and every time I return to my homeland, I feel this improvement, the air becomes much cleaner.  And I am happy to say that Turkmenistan is making an unambiguously great contribution to this cause”, Chang Ching Yu said.

 The ADB representative also noted the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project supported by the bank, assuring that this assistance would continue.

 Ajmal Ahmadi, Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Afghanistan, mentioned that Afghanistan was ready to start implementing the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) project on its territory in 2021. Up to this day, Afghanistan had done a lot of work to ensure the safety of the construction of the gas pipeline, and this should significantly speed up the process of implementing a large-scale project.

 As part of a panel discussion on the role of pipeline projects in the transition to a low-carbon future, representatives of reputable international companies and financial institutions spoke out in support of the TAPI project, which would play a large role in ensuring the energy security of the Asian region.

 As the representative of the Haldor Topse company noted, the company was directly involved in the construction of the world's first gas chemical complex for processing natural gas into synthetic gasoline in Ovadandepe in the Akhal region.  Haldor Topse has been currently planning to build another plant for processing natural gas into synthetic gasoline in Turkmenistan. That would be an even more modern enterprise, which would significantly reduce dependence on the export of raw materials and make more efficient use of natural resources.

 Taking into account the huge natural resources of the country, Turkmenistan had great potential for the development of oil and gas and industrial sectors of the economy, as Luc Becker, permanent representative of CIFAL in Turkmenistan (France) said.

 According to him, it would be facilitated by the TAPI gas pipeline, which would allow directing gas flows to South Asian markets. In addition, CIFAL welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan on joint exploration, development and development of the Dostluk hydrocarbon field in the Caspian Sea.

 As noted at the Forum, the investment policy implemented under the leadership of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was aimed at maintaining high rates of economic growth, well-being of the state and consistent improvement in the quality of life of the Turkmen people.

 Interaction with international financial institutions is a strategic direction in the implementation of the economic policy of Turkmenistan. Over the past ten years, our country has been actively directing state and foreign investments in the production sector.  At the same time, the largest investments were made in the development of priority mining and processing industries in the oil and gas sector.

 The state investment policy provides for the introduction of new technologies in production, stimulation of export-oriented and import-substituting production, improving the quality of domestic products, solving problems of employment of the population, as well as a raw material base for processing industries.

 An effective investment policy ensures a sufficiently high and sustainable economic growth.  Financial and social stability is preserved, a prompt response to external challenges and adaptation to changes in the economic environment is carried out.

 The share of investments in the country's economy remains high (at the level of 22-25% of GDP).  Over $ 10 billion is spent annually on large-scale regional and national projects.