Turkmenistan is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and the Caspian Sea. It gained its independence upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Upon researching the country and reading different articles, I will be conducting a SWOT analysis to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats involved with the country. Strengths being characteristics of the country that give it an advantage over others, weaknesses being characteristics that place the country at a disadvantage to others, opportunities being elements that the country could use to its advantage, and threats being elements that could cause problems for the country. Turkmenistan’s country has many good aspects about it. The land and resources available contribute to a lot of the strengths that Turkmenistan has. The country has large areas for non-irrigated farming. Mountains and foothills within the region are rich in mineral resources. With the resources available, the people who live there are able to produce cotton silk, handmade carpets and rugs, and raise cattle, sheep, goats, and camels. The raising of this livestock contributes most to the agricultural economy. They use camels for transporting sheepherders, drawing water from the desert wells, and as a main source of meat, wool, and milk. This country is one of the most industrially developed regions of the republic. Oil extraction and refining, fisheries and fish processing, and chemical and mining industries are a few of the industries that Turkmenistan has to offer. This enables them to export oil, butter, wine, fish, and salt. Turkmenistan has many industries that have led to a vast amount of plants and shops that have been built to accommodate production. Because they are the 4th largest natural gas reserve in the world, many plants have been built in Ashgabat that produce oil-field and agricultural machinery. They also have many shops for repairing diesel locomotives and railcars. Silk-winding and weaving mills and cotton mills provide the capability to produce furs, leather footwear, carpets and rugs, and sewn goods. Many internal resources attribute to the strengths when evaluating Turkmenistan. Many non-Turkmen skilled workers and scientific and technical people immigrated to the republic during the soviet period. During this time is when the Turkmenistan economy really developed. They also have developed their education versus the way it used to be. Education is free and lasts for 10 years. Higher education lasts 5 years. The main University (Turkmen State University) is a teachers college, medical, polytechnic, and agricultural institute. They also have postgraduate education available at Turkmen Academy of Sciences. The country of Turkmenistan has some advantages over other countries. According to www.globaledge.msu.edu, Turkmenistan “continues to post strong growth, in excess of 10%, driven by private consumption and public investment. The gas sector remains dominant and production is expected to continue growing in 2014 with operations starting in the Galkynysh field. Redirecting gas exports toward China and Iran means the country is relatively unscathed by the absence of economic recovery in the European Union.” Even though Turkmenistan has many strengths, this country also has many weaknesses. Turkmenistan is a small isolated economy with weak economic diversification and a poorly developed banking sector. All of these things result in providing a difficult business climate. One of the major weaknesses is the geography and climate. Much of the country is waterless therefore inhospitable to plants and animal life. The instability of the land is a result of earthquakes of great destructive forces. The land is made up of many oases that once used to be important aspects of the country, but now are not. The lower Amu Darya Oasis used to be one of the most important agricultural regions of the republic. Due to reductions of flow of the water to the lower Amu Darya Oasis threaten the agricultural output that once was there. The Amu Darya Oasis was a major source for the growth of multiple things to sustain the lives of the people who live in Turkmenistan. Cotton, beans, vegetables, and cattle are a few of the things that were grown in this Oasis. There are a number of serious issues that threaten the longevity of this region. The effects of pollution from pesticide, chemical runoff, and decline in outflow are a few of the problems. The Aral Sea was one of the fourth largest lakes in the world but has been shrinking since the 1960s after the rivers that ran into it were diverted by irrigation projects that the Soviet Union were running. The Aral Sea shrinkage has been a huge disaster for the Amu Darya Oasis and has threatened to ruin the Oasis as an agricultural producer for Turkmenistan. Another weakness is transportation. Railways are one of the main modes of transportation in Turkmenistan. Passenger railways are limited by national borders of the country, therefore unable to serve a scattered population efficiently. The dispersion of the towns in Turkmenistan require extending the railways to better serve the people who live there, but the existing system in place falls short of achieving that goal. Poor maintenance, increased freight, and more passenger traffic have severely put a strain on the transportation system. More than half a million people fly in and out of Turkmenistan to reach destinations such as Moscow, London, Beijing, and Birmingham. Commercial air service is a major asset to the country, but not when 22 out of the 64 airports have surfaced runways. Turkmenistan has many opportunities that exist in its country and environment that could potentially be beneficial. Export of industrial and agricultural raw materials remain the most important goals of the Turkmen government. With half of its irrigated land being planted in cotton, it places the country in the top 10-15 producers. Turkmenistan also possesses the world’s 5th largest reserves of natural gas and oil resources. For these reasons, the Government is attempting to strengthen state regulation of foreign trade and create a state system of insurance to expand and consolidate foreign economic relations. Many improvements are taking place because of the growth of foreign investments. Attracting foreign investments allows the Government to meet the need for capital and technology. Foreign investments also aide in developing the oil and gas industry in Turkmenistan. Although the oil and gas industry are the two main productive industries for Turkmenistan, the government is constantly looking for interested parties who could help build business relations in other industries such as communication, food processing, and agriculture. Russia is often times seen as a threat to Turkmenistan. Russia can also be an opportunity for them. If Russia would cooperate with Turkmenistan, facilities could be made for Iranian passengers and goods which are not yet put in place. If Russia cooperated with Iran and Turkmenistan, the countries would have common economic interests and a shipping service could be established to benefit all countries. Unfortunately, Russia has not been willing thus far to venture out and cooperate to be able to start such a service to be used by passengers. One of the biggest threats for Turkmenistan is their dependency on China. Recently, in 2014, two major energy buyers have indicated that they may stop purchasing the country’s natural gas, leaving the demand solely on the Chinese. Turkmenistan may have the fourth largest gas reserve in the country, but its inadequate pipeline infrastructure is causing issues with the country’s ability to export. The only pipeline that is built to transport a good amount of gas in Turkmenistan is one that China built. Not only are energy buyers pulling the plug on purchasing natural gas from Turkmenistan, neighboring country Iran is also looking to no longer buy gas from them. China is vastly becoming the main purchaser of Turkmen gas. Many companies such as Chevron and ExxonMobil are interested in Turkmenistan’s gas industry, but are weary of the lack of commitment from Turkmenistan to improve their pipelines. Turkmenistan lacks the capital markets, creditworthiness, and proper shipping to be able to finance a proper pipeline that these companies are looking for. Russia is also a threat to Turkmenistan, more so a threat to the country’s security. While Russia wants to expand its military presence in Central Asia, not all countries are excited about their intentions. Turkmenistan does not host Russian troops, and are standing their ground to keep it that way. Russia however is urging Turkmenistan to “cooperate in terms of overall efforts to ensure stability in the region.” If Turkmenistan ever had to ask for Russian help to aide in a security problem, it would only arrive in exchange for Turkmen concessions that would likely alter the form of government in Turkmenistan. Taking the SWOT analysis into consideration, there is one main market opportunity for Turkmenistan. Due to the hydrocarbon sector being the country’s largest industry, opportunities still exist for oil and natural gas providers and related companies who service those industries. There is great need for pipeline infrastructure, and rehabilitation of pipelines and fields that are already in existence. The agriculture market is slowly diminishing due to the climate and natural deterioration of the land and resources in Turkmenistan, therefore this would not be a good opportunity for growth.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16094646 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tx.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkmenistan http://www.eurasianet.org/node/69616 http://www.eurasianet.org/node/70801 http://www.eurasianet.org/node/70866 http://www.eurasiareview.com http://www.globaledge.msu.edu http://www.globaltenders.com http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com http://www.rferl.org/content/central-asia-threats-roundtable-discusssion/25422873.html http://turkmenistanembassy.org/ --------------------------------------------
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