UNDP continues to strengthen the capacity of national specialists in the field of statistics and economics
April 18, 2023
UNDP continues to strengthen the capacity of national specialists in the field of statistics and economics
Ashgabat, 19 April 2023: – Within the framework of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) joint project with the State Statistics Committee (TurkmenStat) of Turkmenistan “Strengthening institutional, statistical and information-technical capacity of the State Statistics Committee of Turkmenistan” a two-day workshop on Calculating the consumption of fixed capital in accordance with the 2008 System of National Accounts (SNA) was held.
The workshop, organized on 18-19 April 2023 in Ashgabat for representatives of the State Statistics Committee of Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan and the Central Bank of Turkmenistan, was aimed at providing an overview of the calculation of consumption of fixed capital and providing recommendations for improving the calculation of consumption of fixed capital, as well as bringing the methodology in line with the SNA 2008. Earlier within the framework of the above-mentioned UNDP project assessment of the current situation with the transition to the 2008 SNA had been conducted and recommendations had been developed for further SNA 2008 implementation. One of the recommendations was to improve the asset valuation and the fixed capital consumption calculations.
The training was held by Mr. Massimiliano Iommi, the UNDP International expert. “The development of accurate estimates for fixed assets and consumption of fixed capital is crucial to assess the main drivers of economic activity and it is the basis for the design, monitoring, and evaluation of economic policies. Thus, we can say that the project aims to provide policymakers and economists with better data on income and wealth in Turkmenistan to design better development policies,” – said Mr. Iommi.
“In recent years, the CIS countries have made significant progress in implementing the SNA 2008. However, most countries face serious issues, the solution of which lies in the need to obtain more reliable accounts for comprehensive macroeconomic analysis,” – said Mr. Rovshen Nurmuhammedov, UNDP Assistant Resident Representative in Turkmenistan. “UNDP aims to increase the capacity of relevant national specialists on calculating the consumption of fixed capital, as well as improve the relevant methodological guidelines of Turkmenstat”.
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A joint project between the UNDP and the State Statistics Committee (TurkmenStat) of Turkmenistan “Strengthening institutional, statistical and information-technical capacity of the State Statistics Committee of Turkmenistan” was launched in the beginning of 2021 and aims at strengthening the capacity of TurkmenStat through the implementation of three main components: 1) strengthening the information and technical capacity of the State Statistics Committee of Turkmenistan, aimed at improving the quality of statistical data, 2) continuing work on the conceptual transition to the 2008 SNA and expanding the scope, degree, detail and quality of national accounts and complementary economic statistics; 3) increasing the capacity of TurkmenStat for statistical reporting to measure the progress of the SDGs.