Sustainable Development Goal 9 of the global development agenda for the period up to 2030 seeks to build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. Here a few facts and indicators from the commentary published by the newspaper “Neutral Turkmenistan”, demonstrating the country’s approach to achieving SDG 9:
In Turkmenistan, industrial and innovative development, the transition to the digital economy, the creation of high-tech, knowledge-intensive industries, the development of transport and logistics chains are priority strategic tasks to ensure economic growth.
The transport and communication infrastructure of Turkmenistan includes 6 modern international airports, and an airport is currently being built in the Balkan province in accordance with ICAO standards. The International Seaport of Turkmenbashi is an important hub for the transportation of cargo in Central Asia. It has a capacity of more than 27 million tons of cargo per year and can receive 17 ships at the same time.
Turkmenistan is actively integrating into the international transport system, being a participant in such international programs as the TRACECA Program, the CAREC Program, the SPECA Program and others.
One of the criteria for the industrialization of the economy is the steady growth of the share of manufacturing industry in the country’s GDP. In 2022, the share of value added in the manufacturing industry increased to 14.7%.
12.8% of all employed people in 2021 worked in the manufacturing sector.
In 2019, a plant for the production of gasoline from natural gas was commissioned in the village of Ovadandepe in the Akhal province. This large industrial facility has become the world’s first gas chemical complex that produces high-quality, environmentally friendly gasoline based on natural gas processing.
The share of the output of small and medium-sized enterprises in industrial production grew from 5.6% in 2015 to 12.3% in 2021.
Employment in individual entrepreneurship increased by 15.4% in 2021 compared to 2019.
Turkmenistan is steadily transitioning to a “green” economy, employing advanced ecologically friendly and resource-saving industrial technologies. The introduction of comprehensive measures has allowed CO (carbon monoxide) emissions from stationary sources to remain nearly constant in recent years.
The share of expenditures on research and development is growing in GDP every year. In 2022, about 300 contracts were signed and executed at the Technology Center of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan, about a dozen results of scientific developments and technological solutions were introduced into various production sectors of the country.
Digitalization is an important source of increased productivity, sustainability and a “green” transition. Today, there are hundreds of trading platforms in Turkmenistan that contribute to the development of e-commerce, banking, transport and logistics sector of the country.
Currently, the number of Internet users in Turkmenistan is 20% higher than in 2019.
In the period from 2017 to 2022, the number of plastic card holders and Internet banking users has more than doubled. The number of mobile banking customers has increased 65 times.
Further development tasks in the banking sector will be aimed at deepening and integrating banking solutions into such interaction formats as G2G, G2B and G2C.
In order to improve telecommunications services to the population in the communications industry, it is planned to launch a second communications satellite.
Turkmenistan intends to expand the percentage of processing sectors in industry by significantly boosting the contribution of research and development activities to GDP formation. ///nCa, 15 August 2023
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