Turkmenistan: the central Asian hermit state ‘teetering on the edge of catastrophe’
- Citizens of the gas-rich, isolated state subject to food shortages and human rights abuses
- It is lead by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who is best known abroad for his extravagant stunts
Investors and governments should stop cosying up to gas-rich Turkmenistan, according to a new UK report that describes the central Asian hermit state as “a country teetering on the edge of catastrophe”.
Turkmenistan, second only to North Korea in the scale of its isolation and leadership cult, has long been courted by western governments eager to tap into its gas reserves and associated wealth.
The country is thought to possess about 10 per cent of the proven global reserves of natural gas, but is currently in the midst of an economic crisis.
“Hunger and hyperinflation are being managed by further increasing the scale of human rights abuse and the level of intrusion into people’s lives,” says the report by the British think tank the Foreign Policy Centre.
Its author, FPC director Adam Hug, said Turkmenistan was the worst country in the region “in terms of the depth and breadth of repression”, and said foreign investors should think twice before associating themselves with the country.
Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is best known abroad for his extravagant stunts showing off apparent prowess across a range of fields.