- Democratic Party 45, other 5; note - all 50 preapproved by
President NIYAZOV

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party of Turkmenistan
[Saparmurat NIYAZOV]; Party for Democratic Development [Durdymurat
HOJA-MUHAMEDOV, chairman]; Agzybirlik [Nurberdy NURMAMEDOV,
cochairman, Hubayberdi HALLIYEV, cochairman]
note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small
opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries

International organization participation: CCC, CIS, EBRD, ECE, ECO,
ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDB, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat
(nonsignatory user), IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NACC, NAM, OIC,
OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
(observer)

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

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael W. COTTER
embassy : 9 Pushkin Street, Ashgabat
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45, 35-00-46, 35-00-42, Tie Line [8]
962-0000
FAX: [9] (9312) 51-13-05

Flag description: green field, including a vertical stripe on the
hoist side, with a claret vertical stripe in between containing five
white, black, and orange carpet guls (an asymmetrical design used in
producing rugs) associated with five different tribes; a white
crescent and five white stars in the upper left corner to the right of
the carpet guls

Economy

Economy - overview: Turkmenistan is largely desert country with
nomadic cattle raising, intensive agriculture in irrigated oases, and
huge gas and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted
in cotton, making it the world's tenth largest producer. It also
possesses the world's fifth largest reserves of natural gas and
substantial oil resources. Until the end of 1993, Turkmenistan had
experienced less economic disruption than other former Soviet states
because its economy received a boost from higher prices for oil and
gas and a sharp increase in hard currency earnings. In 1994, Russia's
refusal to export Turkmen gas to hard currency markets and mounting
debts of its major customers in the former USSR for gas deliveries
contributed to a sharp fall in industrial production and caused the
budget to shift from a surplus to a slight deficit. The eco