9)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)

Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]
note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small
opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries; the
two most prominent opposition groups-in-exile have been Gundogar and
Erkin; Gundogar was led by former Foreign Minister Boris
SHIKHMURADOV until his arrest and imprisonment in the wake of the 25
November 2002 assassination attempt on President NIYAZOV; Erkin is
led by former Foreign Minister Abdy KULIEV and is based out of
Moscow; the Union of Democratic Forces, a coalition of
opposition-in-exile groups, is based in Europe

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU,
MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mered Bairamovich ORAZOV
FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697
telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500
chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Tracey A. JACOBSON
embassy: 9 Pushkin (1984) Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000
mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-7070
telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45
FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14

Flag description:
green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side,
containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs) stacked
above two crossed olive branches similar to the olive branches on
the UN flag; a white crescent moon and five white stars appear in
the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe

Economy Turkmenistan

Economy - overview:
Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture
in irrigated oases and large gas and oil resources. One-half of its
irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it at one time the
world's tenth-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have
led to a nearly 46% decline in cotton exports. With an authoritarian
ex-Communist regime in power and a tribally based social structure,
Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to eco