Turkmenistan declared itself officially neutral in 1995, rejecting both Western and Russian influence.
ASHGABAT: Turkmenistan’s president hinted at future political reforms on Friday, ahead of a rare international summit that would include peers from Russia, Turkey, Iran, and other countries.
President Serdar Berdymukhamedov, who critics say rules over an autocratic and opaque system, made the remarks in the state publication Turkmenistan Today to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the former Soviet nation’s declaration of neutrality.
“We are carrying out extensive work aimed at transforming our neutral country into a powerful, democratic, and rule-of-law state where citizens live happy lives,” Berdymukhamedov stated in the piece, without providing any other information.
The essay was released on the eve of a symposium in Ashgabat to discuss the gas-rich Central Asian state’s international neutrality. Among the attendees were Russian President.
Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian.
Turkmenistan, a mainly desert country with seven million people and the world’s fourth largest natural gas reserves, declared itself officially neutral in 1995 under its first president, Saparmurat Niyazov, who rejected both Western and Russian influence.
Until his death in 2006, Niyazov maintained tight political control, an isolationist foreign policy, and an economy based primarily on natural gas exports.
Berdymukhamedov, who succeeded his father as president in 2022, has hinted at certain changes. Social media restrictions have been relaxed, and the government has promised to create new air travel routes and liberalise its visa policy by issuing e-visas for select foreign tourists.
Turkmenistan also says it wants to join the World Trade Organisation and diversify its economy away from gas exports, the most of which go to China. Last month, it passed legislation establishing a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency mining and trade. Reuters