Eng. / Fr. / 
NATO’s relations with Turkmenistan should be viewed through the Partnership for Peace framework, which Turkmenistan joined in 1994. Turkmenistan adheres to a policy of constant neutrality and does not offer any armed forces units or infrastructure for use in the context of NATO-led operations.
Nevertheless, NATO and Turkmenistan actively cooperate in security-related, science and environmental issues and other areas. An Individual Partnership Programme (IPP) lays out the programme of cooperation between NATO and Turkmenistan.
Dialogue takes place within the framework of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC). The NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, Ambassador Robert F. Simmons, conducts high-level political dialogue with Turkmen authorities through regular visits to the country. The NATO Liaison Officer in Central Asia also visits Ashgabat regularly and reviews cooperation with the government.
NATO and Turkmenistan are developing practical cooperation in a number of areas through the country’s Individual Partnership Programme (IPP). Turkmenistan’s cooperation with NATO aims at introducing and familiarizing Turkmen personnel with NATO and Partnership for Peace (PfP) issues, as well as enhancing deepening cooperation in areas such as border control and security, civil emergency planning, defence budgeting and management. Turkmenistan is also participating actively in the NATO-Russia Council pilot project on counter-narcotics training for Afghan and Central Asian personnel.
More…NATO-Turkmenistan relations began in 1992, when the country joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (later replaced by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, EAPC, in 1997). Relations further developed in 1994, when Turkmenistan joined the Partnership for Peace programme. Through this framework, cooperative initiatives have expanded to include a range of activities in which the aims of NATO and Turkmenistan coincide.
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