Former President Niyazov stated that the neutrality would prevent Turkmenistan from participating in multi-national defense organizations, but allows military assistance.
Turkmenistan has significant commercial relationships with Russia and Iran and growing cross-border trade with Afghanistan.
The Government of Turkmenistan often appears to use the conflicting interests of these regional powers as a means to extract concessions, especially on energy issues.
As a result, a large volume of narcotics are trafficked through Turkmenistan on their way to lucrative markets in Europe and Russia.
Turkmenistan unilaterally cut off exports of pipeline natural gas to Iran in 2017 over a payment arrears dispute.
Afghanistan buys liquid petroleum gas, shipped by rail to Ymamnazar and Torghundi for onward delivery by truck.
Turkmenistan maintains permanent representatives to the United Nations offices in New York City, Vienna, and Geneva.
The United Nations maintains a permanent representation staffed by a resident coordinator along with representatives of some UN agencies in Ashgabat.
The agreement to build the pipeline to transport Turkmen gas to Afghanistan and Pakistan and beyond to India was signed in 2010.
[9] It was extended 38 km to Andkhoy in January 2021,[10] and is intended eventually to become part of a railway corridor through northern Afghanistan, linking it via Sherkhan Bandar, Mazar-i-Sharif and Kunduz to Tajikistan.
Nonetheless the two countries have begun to cooperate more in commercial spheres, most notably with signing of a memorandum in 2020 on joint exploitation of the cross-boundary Serdar oil field in the Caspian.
Roughly 12,000 to 13,000 Turkmen university students are matriculated annually in Belarusian institutions of higher education.
Such German firms as Siemens and Claas have made significant sales of medical and agricultural equipment, respectively, to Turkmenistan.
To some degree the relationship is framed by Turkmenistan's desire to export natural gas to India via the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Pipeline.
Iran's Islamic theocracy and Turkmenistan's secular dictatorship also prevent the development of a closer friendship.
The relationship is dominated by the presence of Italian petroleum firm Eni, which operates oil wells in the Caspian Sea under a production sharing agreement.
[18] Japan is heavily involved in operation of the Oguz Han Engineering Technology University in Ashgabat.
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation has financed several major industrial projects in Turkmenistan, including plants constructed with participation of Kawasaki and Sumitomo.
Romania's primary interest is development of the Lapis Lazuli corridor, which would use Romanian seaports on the Black Sea.
[4][5] South Korean firms such as Hyundai and LG have won major contracts for building industrial plants.
[4][5] Ukrainian companies have been involved in major construction projects, including the rail and automobile bridges across the Amu Darya at Türkmenabat.
The United States has publicly advocated industrial and agricultural privatization, market liberalization, and fiscal reform, as well as legal and regulatory reforms to open up the economy to foreign trade and investment, as the best way to achieve prosperity and true independence and sovereignty.