Ashgabat - The Times Of Central Asia

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Investment Forum

Ashgabat Hosts Turkmenistan Investment Forum This Week

Turkmenistan’s government says it expects more than 800 participants from dozens of countries to attend an investment conference in Ashgabat this week. A diverse group of more than 100 speakers is expected to participate in the Turkmenistan Investment Forum on October 1–2, including Saudi Prince Mansour bin Mohammed Al Saud, Deputy Trade Minister Mahmut Gürcan of Turkey, and Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan of Armenia. The forum is being organized by Turkmenistan’s finance and foreign ministries, in partnership with Turkmen Congress, a company that organizes international forums and other events. It aims to highlight the country as a place of untapped economic potential, endowed with “the world’s fourth-largest natural gas reserves, a steadily diversifying economy, and major infrastructure modernization underway,” according to conference organizers. Turkmenistan is seeking to expand its role as a transit point on the Middle Corridor, a trade network linking China and Central Asia to Europe via rail and marine infrastructure. Even so, foreign investors have long had concerns about tight government controls, opaque bureaucracy, and other challenges in the Central Asian country. Delegates to the forum at the Yyldyz Hotel in Turkmenistan’s capital will discuss diversification of export routes for oil and gas, development of the Trans-Caspian Transit Corridor, public-private partnerships, agriculture, and the efficient use of natural resources. Representatives from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and other international institutions will participate.

Independence Day

Turkmenistan Marks 35 Years of Independence Amid Reports of Shortages

Turkmenistan marked 35 years of independence on September 27 with a military parade and mass celebrations in Ashgabat. The festivities followed independent reports of food shortages and disrupted public transport in the capital. President Serdar Berdimuhamedov attended the parade at the State Tribune complex, where military units and armored vehicles passed before the country’s leaders. The official account described mounted formations and a simultaneous naval display on the Caspian Sea. A civilian procession followed, with decorated floats representing the country’s regions and economic sectors. Performers in traditional dress joined the celebrations, while the government presented Berdimuhamedov with an Akhal-Teke horse named Vatan. The anniversary program had begun before the holiday itself. On September 26, Berdimuhamedov attended a concert at Ashgabat’s Congress Center. According to state media, the performance included patriotic songs celebrating the president and his father, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who chairs the Halk Maslahaty. Official coverage presented the anniversary as a demonstration of national unity and economic progress. The celebrations also provided an occasion for state awards, while the president signed a decree pardoning 1,054 convicted Turkmen citizens ahead of the anniversary, according to a September 26 government report. He instructed the defense minister and law enforcement officials to arrange for their release and return to their families. The report did not provide a breakdown of their convictions. A separate decree declared September 28 a non-working day and moved the day off falling on Sunday, September 27, to September 29, extending the holiday break through Tuesday. However, independent reporting from Ashgabat described pressures on everyday life during preparations for the anniversary. On September 22, Chronicles of Turkmenistan reported reduced supplies of meat and rising food prices in the capital. Its correspondents said chicken legs usually sold for 16 manats per kilogram ($4.57 at the official rate) had become difficult to find. Chicken previously priced at 35 manats per kilogram was available only intermittently at the Paýtagt shopping center, where it now cost 39 manats. Vegetables and potatoes had also become more expensive. Chronicles of Turkmenistan attributed this partly to reduced supplies from neighboring Iran. The reports reflect a longer-running pattern. The Times of Central Asia previously documented shortages and rationing in state food stores, where subsidized staples remained scarce despite rising prices. In a separate September 21 report, Chronicles of Turkmenistan said many of Ashgabat’s buses had been diverted to preparations for Independence Day and the September 23 Halk Maslahaty meeting. Vehicles were carrying performers and other participants to rehearsals, while ordinary passengers faced long waits. The report described overcrowded services during rush hour, and said some taxi drivers had doubled short-distance fares from 10 to 20 manats per passenger. Turkmenistan declared independence from the Soviet Union on October 27, 1991. The authorities moved the annual holiday to September 27 in 2018, so this year’s official celebrations preceded the historical anniversary by one month.

Architectural Heritage

Ashgabat’s Postwar Architecture Is Disappearing One Building at a Time

In July, UNESCO added ten examples of Tashkent’s modernist architecture to the World Heritage List, recognizing the buildings and urban complexes that helped reshape the Uzbek capital after the devastating 1966 earthquake. In neighboring Kazakhstan, prominent Soviet-era buildings in Almaty are protected through national and local heritage registers. Turkmenistan has also gained international recognition for ancient sites such as Merv and Nisa, along with traditions of carpet weaving and horse breeding. Yet Ashgabat’s 20th-century architecture remains largely absent from this system of recognition. This has taken on added urgency because some of the buildings that tell the story of modern Ashgabat are already disappearing. [caption id="attachment_56051" align="aligncenter" width="1774"] Image: TCA, Stephen M. Bland[/caption] In August 2026, turkmen.news reported the demolition of several buildings near Ashgabat’s 30th microdistrict. Some were residential blocks. Although some occupants received replacement apartments, other families objected to the relocation terms. In February, the former building of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography on Azadi Street was also demolished. At different times, it had housed a court and the Cultural Heritage Center. An additional floor and marble cladding had already changed its appearance, although some neoclassical elements survived. Once a building has been demolished, its architecture can be studied only through archives and photographs. For Ashgabat, this is particularly significant because much of the city visible today emerged from one of the worst disasters in its history. The City After the Earthquake The 1948 Ashgabat earthquake struck on the night of October 6, destroying or severely damaging much of the city. The capital had to be largely rebuilt. Architectural historian Ruslan Muradov writes that postwar reconstruction began with two-story brick apartment buildings designed to meet higher seismic standards. Their facades featured decorative plasterwork and carved wooden elements on the loggias, or recessed balconies. New residential blocks were organized around shared courtyards and greenery. In the 1950s, the Academy of Sciences, the railway station, Turkmen State University, theaters, administrative buildings, and new housing transformed the city center. From the 1960s through the 1980s, hotels, public buildings, and residential districts added another architectural layer. Behind this architecture was the everyday life of several generations. Courtyards became extensions of apartments, while institutions and shops occupied the ground floors. The postwar city gradually became an ordinary, lived-in urban environment. Its surviving buildings still offer clues to how Ashgabat recovered after 1948. They show how seismic risk changed construction, how the climate influenced housing design, and how planners used the spaces between buildings. But unlike some neighboring capitals, Ashgabat has no publicly available inventory identifying the most significant examples of its postwar architecture. The time available to document them is shrinking. [caption id="attachment_56053" align="alignnone" width="1774"] Image: TCA, Stephen M. Bland[/caption] Turkmenistan’s Heritage Focus Turkmenistan has five properties on the World Heritage List. Ancient Merv, Kunya-Urgench, and the Parthian Fortresses of Nisa make up three of them. The other two are transnational properties, the Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor and the Cold Winter Deserts of Turan. Another nine sites are on the country’s Tentative...

White City Ashgabat

Turkmenistan’s White City Casts Itself as Cutting Edge

Turkmenistan’s so-called “white city” of Ashgabat, where hundreds of buildings are clad in white marble, will host a conference this month aimed at attracting international investment and innovation to the showcase capital. Organizers of the government-backed White City Ashgabat 2026 forum, scheduled for May 24-25, say the delegates will include investors, architects, and engineers, and that the agenda will cover urban planning, digital technologies, and the modernization of water, transport, and other infrastructure. Organizers of the government-backed White City Ashgabat 2026 forum, scheduled for May 24-25, say delegates will include investors, architects, and engineers, and that urban planning, digital technologies, and the modernization of water, transport, and other infrastructure will be discussed. Turkish Airlines and S&P Global Energy are listed as partners for the event. Media partners include several Middle Eastern outlets. Listed speakers include Rahym Gandymov, mayor of Ashgabat; Japanese Ambassador Sasaki Hiroshi; and Francesco La Camera, director-general of the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency. First-time visitors to Turkmenistan’s capital, with its broad avenues, squares and elaborate monuments, sometimes describe it as eerie and unusual. In 2013, the city made it into the Guinness World Records for the highest density of white marble-clad buildings. Perceptions of Ashgabat can range from a futuristic “smart” city to a grandiose display only made possible by the wealth from Turkmenistan’s immense energy resources and the whims of its leaders. Turkmen officials are trying to shape a positive narrative about the city by hosting more international events and focusing on the idea of sustainability. Erfan Ali is director of the regional office for eastern Europe and Central Asia of UN-Habitat, which promotes social and environmental priorities in towns and cities. He said he was looking forward to the Ashgabat conference this month. “Discussions will focus on advancing resilient, inclusive, and smart cities, from climate action to digital transformation, while highlighting practical pathways for future-ready urban systems globally,” Ali said on X. In recent years, Turkmenistan has also focused on the development of Arkadag, a city that lies about 30 kilometers from Ashgabat and features plenty of white marble as well. Arkadag means “protector,” a reference to the formal title of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the former president who retains some power even though his son, Serdar, is now the president. This month, the elder Berdimuhamedov visited Arkadag to check on what state media described as the “second phase” of the construction of Arkadag, which formally opened in 2023. A delegation from the city will attend the World Urban Forum, a United Nations conference on sustainable urbanization in Baku, Azerbaijan, on May 17-22.

Diplomacy

Turkmenistan Highlights International Outreach at Cabinet Meeting

A recent Cabinet meeting in Turkmenistan highlighted contacts with many countries and international organizations, reinforcing a perception that the tightly managed nation is taking more steps, however limited, to engage the world. Appearing via video link, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov presided over the May 1 meeting of ministers who covered economic growth, oil and natural gas production, scientific research, and other national priorities in a review of the year so far. But international outreach was a big part of the high-level discussion in an energy-rich Central Asian country often defined as opaque and restrictive. An account of the meeting by the Turkmenistan State News Agency (TDH) ticked off statistics: 220 delegations visited Turkmenistan this year, 400 delegations from Turkmenistan visited other countries, 711 negotiations and other meetings occurred in the country with foreign states and international agencies, and 57 more international documents were added to Turkmenistan’s legal code. “The development of diplomatic relations through foreign embassies is one of the important directions of the foreign policy work of neutral Turkmenistan,” said the report, referring to the country’s policy of non-alignment and not getting involved in the internal affairs of other countries. “Work on promoting relations with the countries of the Middle East is also ongoing,” it said. Iraq opened its embassy in Ashgabat in March, 17 years after Turkmenistan and Iraq established diplomatic relations in 2009. On May 4, Rashid Meredov, Turkmenistan’s foreign minister, spoke by telephone with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi about regional security, Caspian issues, and other matters, according to the Turkmen Foreign Ministry. The ministry’s statement did not mention the Iran conflict or uncertainty surrounding the ceasefire with the United States. Turkmenistan’s international campaign is consistent with a pattern seen across Central Asia, where governments have sought to diversify their trade and diplomatic ties while maintaining close relations with the region’s major powers, Russia and China. Turkmenistan, however, still exports most of its natural gas to China, its largest trading partner. At the same time, Turkmenistan is intensifying efforts to integrate into the global trading system, with officials reaffirming plans to move towards membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is the last post-Soviet republic to start WTO accession talks. Turkmenistan’s leaders are also working on their international profiles. Berdimuhamedov attended an ecological summit of regional leaders in Kazakhstan last month. His father and predecessor, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, traveled to the U.S. in February, China in March, and Austria in April. This month, he is due to travel to the Russian city of Kazan. Although government transparency is limited in Turkmenistan, father and son appear to run the country through a power-sharing arrangement. Outsiders are getting more glimpses of Turkmenistan. The capital, Ashgabat, hosted an international tourism conference in April. This month, the Reuters news agency reported on a trip there after being given what it said was “rare access” to travel in the country. It remains unclear, however, whether any efforts to engage with the outside world will materially change daily life in Turkmenistan, where people...

Air Routes

Turkmenistan’s Air Connectivity Shows Little Change Despite Expansion Plans

Turkmenistan’s airport schedules remain largely unchanged, with no new destinations added and previously announced flights yet to begin operating. Plans to expand international air links from Turkmenistan have been discussed for years, but little has changed in practice. At the end of last year, Russia’s S7 Airlines announced the launch of the Ashgabat-Novosibirsk route starting March 31. Tickets went on sale at the time, with flights planned once a week. However, as of early April, the flights are absent both from the airline’s schedule and from airport data. Only connecting options remain in booking systems. No official explanation has been provided, despite considerable interest in the route. Flights from Turkmenistan to Russia remain in high demand, significantly exceeding supply. Tickets sell out almost immediately despite high prices, which passengers often associate with monopoly conditions and possible corruption schemes. At present, the choice is limited to two routes: S7 Airlines operates Ashgabat-Moscow flights, while national carrier Turkmenistan Airlines serves only the Ashgabat-Kazan route. The limited number of direct routes forces passengers to seek alternatives. One of the most common is transit through Uzbekistan. The neighboring country can be reached by land, and from there dozens of flights to Russian cities are available. At the same time, there is separate demand for travel to Uzbekistan itself, including for business, education, and tourism. Nevertheless, Turkmenistan has no direct air links with any neighboring country. The restoration of flights with Uzbekistan was discussed in 2025 by presidents Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Shavkat Mirziyoyev, but no specific timelines or routes have been announced since. Some travel takes place via Azerbaijan. In the first two months of this year, more than 4,000 citizens of Turkmenistan entered the country. A significant share of these trips is related not to tourism but to obtaining European visas, as doing so from within Turkmenistan is more difficult. Meanwhile, discussions on transport cooperation between Ashgabat and Baku have focused mainly on cargo transportation. The only notable change has been an increase in the number of flights between Ashgabat and Istanbul, driven by the foreign carrier Turkish Airlines.