Turkmenistan

Due to global turmoil, the importance of the Middle Corridor has grown exponentially. However, the Caspian Sea continues to pose a significant obstacle to the realization of the corridor’s economic potential.

The Taliban authorities say that around 3 kilometers of the pipeline has been completed, out of more than 770 km needed to bring Turkmen gas to the Pakistani border.

Central Asia’s evolving geopolitical role is not just about balancing external actors; it is about leveraging these partnerships to pursue their own national and elite interests. 

For the second year in a row, Central Asia’s leaders are making the trek to Moscow to mark a holiday of fleeting relevance in the region.

Ashgabat has a delicate balance to maintain between hewing to its traditional neutrality and mitigating potential threats from Afghanistan. 

Yet again, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan – alongside Saudi Arabia and Pakistan – have been granted waivers from sanctions related to their religious freedom violations.

USAID Administrator Samantha Power announced an additional $14.3 million in regional programing, plus $18.7 million to boost collaboration in Uzbekistan, specifically.

The region’s search for language, historic memory, cultural heritage and – above all – dignity received a new impetus from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

An interview with Chinese diplomacy researcher Giulia Sciorati.

The summit produced the clearest iteration of Chinese interests in and commitments to Central Asia to date, but there's no "new blueprint" for relations.

Although they don’t share a border, budding autocratic dynasties Turkmenistan and Tajikistan are close political neighbors.

All of the candidates support President Serdar Berdymuhamedov and his father, Gurbanguly.

A year after assuming the presidency, Serdar Berdimuhamedov lives even deeper in the shadow of his father.

A U.S. Senate subcommittee recently explored U.S. policy toward Central Asia amid the war in Ukraine and intense concern about global energy security.

As Central Asian governments roll out energy sector reforms, private investment is set to play a key role in economic development and the clean energy transition.

Who cares about a president when you have a new “national leader”?

This will be the younger Berdimuhamedov’s first visit to China as president of Turkmenistan. 

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu's trip to Central Asia seeks to “reinforce the United States’ commitment to each country’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity."

Not so much. Ashgabat has a long way to go to achieve a functioning and competitive market economy. 

Although Ashgabat has resumed limited flights to Russia and the UAE, there are still no regular public flights to and from Turkey.

Turkmenistan’s cotton industry relies on forced labor, but despite boycotts and bans goods produced from Turkmen cotton continue to reach global markets.

Four months into Serdar Berdimuhamedov’s presidency much remains the same, but there have been changes too.

Like father, like son: Serdar Berdimuhamedov made his first significant cabinet shuffle. The process remains as opaque as ever.

Although Islam has been a part of Turkmen culture for centuries, public practice of Islam was largely suppressed during the Soviet Union and in the early independence era, too.