VZCZCXRO1748
PP RUEHIK
DE RUEHAH #0074/01 0191310
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191310Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4089
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 6139
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3828
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 3687
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 4381
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1423
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 4312

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000074 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN; 
EEB/IFD/OMA FOR BSAUNDERS 
COMMERCE FOR DSTARKS/EHOUSE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID AID ECON EFIN PREL TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN'S BUDGET PUBLICLY AVAILABLE, BUT 
OMISSIONS REMAIN 
 
REF: A. STATE 1923 
     ¶B. 09 ASHGABAT 413 
 
ASHGABAT 00000074  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The following is Post's response to ref A that 
requests information about Turkmenistan's central government 
budget. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Is the host's annual national budget publicly 
available? 
 
Total amounts for both the general state budget, which 
includes central and local government revenue and expenses, 
and the central (non-local) government were published in the 
state-published newspaper "Neutral Turkmenistan" on November 
23, 2009.  There is no detailed breakdown of the overall 
budget figures available to the public. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Are incomes and expenditures included in the 
publicly-available budget? 
 
The 2010 budget figures published in the Turkmen newspaper 
indicated $16.94 billion in revenues and a projected $17.47 
billion in expenditures, leaving a $0.52 billion deficit. 
There was mention that $2.8 billion in revenues come from tax 
revenues.  There was no line item breakdown of expenditures. 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) What is post's assessment of the extent to which the 
publicly-available budget accurately reflects actual 
government incomes and expenditures? 
 
The publicly available budget figures do not include revenues 
and expenditures of self-supporting government sectors such 
as the oil and gas sector and the railways.  There is no 
transparency regarding the government's overall revenues and 
expenditures.  There is no basis to determine the accuracy of 
the published figures.  Additionally, the largest contributor 
to government revenues, oil and gas revenues, is handled 
separately from the published budget figures. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Have there been any events since the 2009 review 
that may have affected fiscal transparency (e.g., a coup)? No. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Since last year's review, what efforts has the host 
government undertaken to improve fiscal transparency? (ref B) 
What progress has been made, pursuant to the 2009 demarches 
on the subject? 
 
In 2009, the GOTX approved and participated in the following 
projects funded by USAID's Economic Reform to Enhance 
Competitiveness (EREC) project: the establishment of an 
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Training 
Center at the Turkmen Academy of Sciences, which will train 
university professors on how to introduce IFRS into the 
Turkmen university accounting curriculum and serve as a 
resource facility for Turkmen professors' ongoing 
professional development; courses in the Certified Accounting 
Practitioner/Certified International Professional Accountant 
(CAP/CIPA) "Train the Trainers Program for Accounting 
Professors" program with 102 Turkmen participants; courses in 
the CAP/CIPA "Train the Trainers Program for Banking Sector 
Specialists, with 275 participants between December 2008 and 
November 2009; a review of the Supreme Control Chamber (SCC) 
of Turkmenistan, which resulted in a development plan that 
identifies priorities for capacity building; and a two-year 
time schedule for strengthening the SCC through the 
implementation of agreed activities contained in the 
 
ASHGABAT 00000074  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
development plan.  Additionally, the GOTX participated in a 
joint EREC and EU-TACIS program to assist Turkmen Ministry of 
Finance reps prepare a set of national accounting standards 
based on international standards, and the GOTX signed an MOU 
with the United Nations Center for Preventive Diplomacy 
(UNDP) on accounting reforms in the banking sector that 
produced a step-by-step action plan to implement IFRS.  By 
approving and participating in the above-mentioned programs, 
the GOTX has shown a continued willingness to improve fiscal 
transparency. 
CURRAN