## Address at the International Conference on "Policy of Neutrality and Its Role in Ensuring International Peace, Security and Sustainable Development"

_IMF News, December 12, 2020_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Address at the International Conference on "Policy of Neutrality and Its Role in Ensuring International Peace, Security and Sustainable Development"](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2020/12/12/sp121220-dmd-zhang-speech)

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: December 12, 2020

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### Global economy: unprecedented stress and uncertainty
- The global economy is "going through unprecedented stress and uncertainty."
- Energy exporters like Turkmenistan face the dual challenge of managing the pandemic and the "collapse in oil prices."
- The recovery is described as a "Long Ascent," "accompanied by uncertainty and prone to setbacks."

### Human and social impact of the crisis
- "The crisis puts decades of progress in jeopardy."
- Exact impacts cited:
  - "the equivalent of 400 million jobs were lost this past spring."
  - "90 million people are expected to fall into extreme poverty."
  - "More than 1.5 billion children have been affected by school closures."
- Uneven burden: "Inequality is growing, as the burden of the crisis has fallen unevenly across sectors."
- Particularly hard hit groups: "women, migrants, and rural populations."

### Implications for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- The crisis has "made the task of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals more daunting."
- Before the pandemic, achieving the 2030 Agenda was "already challenging."
- The pandemic and "the projected slow and uneven recovery" are "putting additional pressures on the SDG timeline."
- Emphasis on global interdependence: "We, the global community, are interdependent and only as strong as our weakest members."

### Turkmenistan: fiscal position and policy priorities
- Turkmenistan is "starting from a position of relative strength."
- Fiscal space provides "options and room to maneuver" and "could safeguard long-term financial sustainability" if allocated wisely.
- Policy recommendations and priorities:
  - "By targeting assistance to the unemployed and those without access to public services, Turkmenistan can lift up the most vulnerable."
  - "By promoting trade and investment, Turkmenistan can diversify revenues and raise incomes."
  - "By fostering transparency and good governance, Turkmenistan can improve its business environment and open its economy."
  - Support for a "thriving private sector" to help "eradicate poverty, reduce inequality, and lay the foundations for sustainable development."

### IMF support and cooperation
- The IMF offers policy advice, macroeconomic expertise, and help to "articulate a vision to emerge from this crisis better than before."
- Since the start of the pandemic, the IMF has approved "over $100 billion in support of nearly 90 countries, 49 of which are low-income."
- The IMF has adapted its technical assistance program to remote-working arrangements to "flexibly help 160 of our members."
- The IMF values its "constructive relationship between the IMF and Turkmenistan" and expresses intent to "further advance our cooperation."

### Closing message
- Call for collective action: "Unity makes strength."
- Recovery principles: "inclusion, resilience, and compassion."
- Final exhortation: policymakers, civil society, international institutions, and people across the region can "take the sustainable development 2030 agenda from goals to achievements."

*Tao Zhang, IMF Deputy Managing Director; December 12, 2020.*

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## References

- [Tao Zhang](https://www.imf.org/en/About/senior-officials/Bios/tao-zhang)
- [Turkmenistan and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/TKM/index.htm)
- [IMF-World Bank Debt Sustainability Framework for Low-Income Countries -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2023/imf-world-bank-debt-sustainability-framework-for-low-income-countries)
- [Speeches](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)
- [PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)
- [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2020/12/12/sp121220-dmd-zhang-speech_