[{"bbox": [83, 106, 1145, 159], "category": "Text", "text": "improvement of the business climate, with a specific focus on micro-, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), providing opportunities to all, especially women and youth, and the diversification of the economy."}, {"bbox": [83, 171, 1145, 251], "category": "Text", "text": "EU support will take the form of a Cooperation Facility, which will consist of a range of tools, initiatives and activities to support the EU strategic interests and priorities in Turkmenistan in two areas: (i) green aspects of the economy and (ii) improving the business climate with a focus on agriculture/rural development and support to trade development."}, {"bbox": [83, 263, 1145, 340], "category": "Text", "text": "The MIP identifies green inclusive development, economic diversification, business climate improvement, with a focus on agriculture/rural development and support to trade development, as priority areas for cooperation with Turkmenistan."}, {"bbox": [83, 356, 1145, 594], "category": "Text", "text": "In a very closed and difficult context, the Cooperation Facility should enable the EU to open some doors to pursue its strategic interests and coherent policy outreach and dialogue with the government, in particular on the SDGs, the Green Deal, as well as economic and business cooperation. It should allow for flexible, fast assistance and implementation of technical assistance, studies and peer-to-peer exchanges of experiences where needed. At the same time, it will enable advocacy on some of the fundamental values of the EU such as women and youth economic and social empowerment and decent work. Although the country's political stance on human rights does not match at all with that of the EU or international human rights law and standards, the EU will continue its engagement to achieve a more open, concrete and focused political dialogue with Turkmenistan, including on issues of human rights, good governance and rule of law."}, {"bbox": [83, 606, 1145, 660], "category": "Text", "text": "The Facility will enhance the awareness and understanding of the relationship between the EU and Turkmenistan, while promoting synergies with other EU policies."}, {"bbox": [83, 672, 1145, 726], "category": "Text", "text": "The proposed action complements ongoing and future regional programmes, potential regional Team Europe Initiatives on Digital Connectivity and on Water, Energy and Climate Change."}, {"bbox": [83, 738, 1145, 791], "category": "Text", "text": "The Action will be complemented by additional funds from thematic and regional programmes, as well as blending and guarantees facilities, in order to ensure the EU's credibility as a dialogue partner for Turkmenistan."}, {"bbox": [219, 822, 459, 851], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.2. Problem Analysis"}, {"bbox": [83, 866, 1145, 1024], "category": "Text", "text": "Turkmenistan is one of the world's most closed countries, ruled by a repressive, autocratic government, which maintains a very tight control, virtually, over all aspects of its citizens' lives including access to information. One of the examples of this is a total denial by Turkmenistan of the COVID-19 pandemic on its territory. To date, Turkmenistan has still not reported a single case of COVID-19 infection. However, the overall sanitary and human rights situation deteriorated following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent socio-economic downturn has affected the whole country."}, {"bbox": [83, 1038, 1145, 1223], "category": "Text", "text": "The conditions of vulnerable groups, such as those working in sectors affected by the pandemic, women working in the informal sector, children and youth, the elderly, people with disabilities, migrants and their families, worsened. Small businesses have been hit very badly, as have state-sector jobs in transportation, where employees have been furloughed. Away from the capital, those who have lost their jobs and have not been able to travel anywhere to find new ones have also suffered. There is growing evidence that in recent months this situation has been increasingly exacerbated by a second year of disappointing grain harvests with some observers signalling that in some areas the situation is bordering on famine conditions."}, {"bbox": [83, 1236, 1145, 1343], "category": "Text", "text": "For this reason, despite Turkmenistan's refusal to admit the existence of the COVID-19 pandemic on its territory, in July 2020, the EU decided to include the country in the regional Central Asia COVID-19 Crisis Response programme. The goal of this programme is to improve the capacities of the national health system to attend to the needs of the local population suffering from an undeclared, yet real, pandemic."}, {"bbox": [83, 1355, 1145, 1511], "category": "Text", "text": "Turkmenistan has one of the world's largest natural gas fields and its economy is almost entirely dependent on the gas exports. The main export market remains China. Recently, however, Turkmenistan has started to face a number of challenges, including a global fall in commodity prices and the competing resource agendas of Russia, Iran, China, Azerbaijan and Turkey. These challenges have begun to affect the country's foreign relations strategy (e.g. a more ambitious government's policy with regards to the climate change) and planned long-distance pipeline projects with new connections to external markets."}, {"bbox": [83, 1525, 1145, 1606], "category": "Text", "text": "Despite the traditional reluctance of Turkmenistan to engage with the EU more actively, the country seems to be very keen on developing economic/trade relations with the EU. Having received a WTO observer status in July 2020, Turkmenistan has expressed gratitude to the EU for support."}, {"bbox": [1041, 1662, 1158, 1688], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 5 of 18"}]