TURKMENISTAN: POOR HEALTHCARE ANOTHER DETERRENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 000251 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EEB E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/26/2020 TAGS: AMED EINV EPET PGOV SOCI TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: POOR HEALTHCARE ANOTHER DETERRENT FOR FOREIGN BUSINESS REF: ASHGABAT 55 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Sylvia Reed Curran. Reasons 1.4 (B) a nd (D). ¶1. (C) An Amcit employee of Austrian energy company OMV met with Poloff to ask about the quality of healthcare in Turkmenistan. Even though he is his company's sole expatriate employee in Turkmenistan, he said company headquarters required him to have a medical and other emergency contingency plan. He asked questions such as could any of the local hospitals competently treat a heart attack, what medications were available at local pharmacies, and how did the U.S. Embassy provide for employees with longer term health problems? He had been to the Turkish-run Central Hospital when he had pulled a muscle or ligament in his shoulder. He was not impressed when they had not been able to help him because they did not have appropriate diagnostic equipment. He added that when he worked in Kazakhstan, his company had a contract with SOS, a private firm that provides medical services for expatriates. He asked if there were any such companies in Turkmenistan. ¶2. (C) In addition to expressing concern about the quality of medical care in Turkmenistan, the Amcit businessman also described a series of other frustrating experiences he had when trying to work in Turkmenistan. He said that finding office space had been a challenge. The first two potential landlords had requested a lease clause stating that OMV would vacate the offices at any point if the Turkmen President wanted it so. He finally found an office with a private owner, who did not have that language in the lease. The businessman also struggles with Internet access. He said that his connection through Turkmen Telecom is so slow that he cannot send attachments with his emails. Often he comes into work at six in the morning to send messages when the connection speed is faster. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: This American businessman's questions on healthcare highlighted another impediment to foreign companies setting up shop in Turkmenistan. The answer to his questions about healthcare was that Turkmen hospitals do not have the capacity to treat serious or long-term medical problems on a par with Western healthcare (reftel). Nor are there private companies or private health clinics to provide medical services to expatriates. The German and UK Embassies try to mitigate the potential for emergencies by not allowing their diplomats to bring children to Ashgabat. Concerns about employees' healthcare, in an already tough business environment, could impact a company's decision about entering the Turkmen market. END COMMENT CURRAN