On December 12, 2025, Turkmenistan will celebrate the 30th anniversary of proclamation of its Permanent Neutrality. I am pleased to extend on behalf of all the citizens of St. Petersburg my heartfelt congratulations to President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the National Leader of the Turkmen People, Chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and to the entire people of Turkmenistan on this remarkable occasion. This date embodies the country’s enduring commitment to the ideals of justice and peaceful coexistence.
The status of Permanent Neutrality has remained the cornerstone of Turkmenistan’s foreign policy for three decades. Thanks to its balanced and wise state policy, Turkmenistan plays an important role in maintaining peace and fostering good-neighbourly relations across the Eurasian region.
Russia and Turkmenistan are strategic partners. Under the leadership of the heads of our countries – President of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the National Leader of the Turkmen People Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov – Russia and Turkmenistan have been successfully advancing a broad and multifaceted partnership.
Our countries actively cooperate within international frameworks such as the CIS, the Caspian Five and the Central Asia + Russia Forum, among others. In 2022, the two countries signed the Declaration on Deepening the Strategic Partnership. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly emphasized that relations between Russia and Turkmenistan have reached a very high, almost allied level.
During his historic visit to the Russian Federation following his inauguration, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted that relations between Turkmenistan and the Russian Federation steadily developed and gained new momentum thanks to our joint efforts.
The Government of St. Petersburg attaches great importance to expanding friendly relations with Turkmenistan. Our city stands at the forefront of cooperation between our two nations. We adhere to the strategic course of partnership defined by our leaders, building relations on the basis of our shared history, the memory of wartime heroism during the Great Patriotic War and common moral and spiritual values.
We are deeply grateful to the National Leader of the Turkmen People, Chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and President Serdar Berdimuhamedov for their steadfast support and constant attention to strengthening cooperation with St. Petersburg.
In 2026, we will mark the 15th anniversary of the Agreement between St. Petersburg and Turkmenistan on Economic, Scientific, Technical, and Cultural Cooperation. We are currently implementing projects under the Roadmap adopted by the Governments of St. Petersburg and Turkmenistan for the period up to 2026. In the following year, we plan to draft an updated document reflecting the current bilateral agenda.
Establishment of twin-city relations between St. Petersburg and Arkadag – a unique, high-tech city now rapidly developing in Turkmenistan – was an important milestone in our partnership. The new city of national significance, being built by decision of Turkmenistan’s leadership, holds great importance for the country. In September 2023, during the visit of a St. Petersburg delegation to Turkmenistan, an Agreement on Cooperation with Arkadag and a Five-Year Joint Action Plan were signed. St. Petersburg is ready to work with its twin city in the areas of smart city technologies, digitalization and education.
The business community is also actively engaged in our dialogue. In Turkmenistan, the St. Petersburg company “Vozrozhdenie” has successfully implemented over 25 large-scale infrastructure projects, including the construction of highways, bridges, interchanges and overpasses. In 2020, commissioned by the Government of Russia, the company carried out the complete renovation of the Joint Turkmen-Russian Secondary School named after A. S. Pushkin in Ashgabat within an exceptionally short timeframe.
Education and youth policy are key areas of our cooperation. In the 2024/25 academic year, more than 2,000 Turkmen students studied in St. Petersburg, pursuing degrees in medicine, engineering, the arts and entrepreneurship. We also hold regular meetings at the level of the St. Petersburg government.
Russia and Turkmenistan share the memory of the heroism of the Soviet people, who defended their Motherland during the Great Patriotic War and liberated Europe from fascism. Today, we stand together in countering attempts to falsify history. We are ready to support public initiatives and joint projects aimed at preserving historical memory. The people of Leningrad–St. Petersburg remain profoundly grateful to the citizens of Turkmenistan, who extended a helping hand to the besieged city during the harsh years of the blockade. Turkmenistan sheltered more than 32,000 residents of Leningrad evacuated from the city and nearby front-line territories. During the Battle of Leningrad, soldiers of the 87th Turkmen Separate Rifle Brigade fought valiantly on the Northwestern Front.
There is a commemorative plaque at the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery in St. Petersburg, bearing the inscription “Eternal memory to the heroes of Turkmenistan who fell in the battles for Leningrad.” We cherish the memory preserved by Leningrad dwellers living in Turkmenistan.
In 2021 and 2024, Galina Alekseyevna Mamedova, a resident of besieged Leningrad now living in Turkmenistan, donated several paintings by her husband, Mamed Mamedov, an Honoured Artist of Turkmenistan, to the Museum of the Defense and Siege of Leningrad.
As Russia’s cultural capital, St. Petersburg places great importance on preserving Turkmenistan’s unique heritage. In 2024, the city widely celebrated the 300th anniversary of the birth of Magtymguly Fraghi, the great poet and thinker, the classic of Turkmen literature. The Russian Ethnographic Museum hosted an exhibition dedicated to his legacy, featuring paintings, works of decorative and applied art and rare books.
One of the poet’s verses dedicated to his people reads: “Here brotherhood is a custom, and friendship is the law.” Continuing the work of the great Turkmen writer, the Chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty, National Leader of the Turkmen People Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, creates literary works devoted to Turkmenistan’s historical and cultural heritage and the country’s chosen path of development. In St. Petersburg, his creative work is held in the highest esteem, and presentations of his books are regularly held in our city.
St. Petersburg is also home to major research centers dedicated to the study of Turkmen culture and history. Among them is the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which preserves unique manuscripts of the Turkmen people. The Russian Ethnographic Museum holds one of the largest collections of Turkmen art and artifacts, which was started by ethnographer S. M. Dudin more than 120 years ago, in 1900.
Leningrad–St. Petersburg scholars have made a significant contribution to the study of Turkmenistan’s world-renowned archaeological sites in close cooperation with their Turkmen colleagues. In the postwar years, the Southern Turkmenistan Archaeological Complex Expedition was established under the Leningrad Branch of the Institute for the History of Material Culture of the USSR Academy of Sciences, led by distinguished historian and orientalist M. E. Masson.
Today, St. Petersburg archaeologists continue this tradition of Eastern archaeology, pursuing research on Turkmenistan’s vast archaeological heritage. Paleozoologists are also making new and remarkable discoveries. These are just a few examples of many joint projects and initiatives that reflect our multifaceted partnership.
Together with our Turkmen partners, we continue identifying new areas of growth. We plan to expand cooperation in the fields of industry, construction, science, education, healthcare and culture.
I wish continued progress to friendly Turkmenistan!
I wish prosperity and well-being to its people and success, and new achievements to President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and National Leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.