Israel–Turkmenistan Relations

Israel and Turkmenistan maintain full diplomatic relations. A 2026 BESA analysis described the relationship as "latent" or "dormant" rather than adversarial.[5] Turkmenistan adheres to a policy of "positive neutrality," a posture that shapes how it engages with both Israel and Israel's regional rivals, including Iran.[6] Bilateral activity includes cooperation at the United Nations and in agriculture, trade, medicine, cybersecurity, and culture, through both private and official channels.[2]

The Iranian factor has influenced the relationship since its inception. Israel's permanent embassy offices in Ashgabat are approximately 17 kilometers from the Iranian border.[4] A 2014 study states that early bilateral ties were deliberately kept discreet because of Iranian sensitivities and attributes complications surrounding the selection of Israeli ambassadors to the same factor.[7]

Israel recognized Turkmenistan as an independent state in 1991, and the countries established formal diplomatic relations in 1993.[8] Turkmenistan was the last former Soviet republic to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.[1] A 1993 Turkmen official delegation visited Israel before formal ties were in place; an archival description characterizes it as the first such delegation and records discussions of Israeli advice on desert development, agricultural production, and efficient irrigation.[9]

In the years immediately following normalization, bilateral ties focused on transferring technological knowledge and were otherwise kept discreet because of Iranian sensitivities.[7] From 1994 to 2003, Israel maintained a non-resident ambassador based at its Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem rather than in Ashgabat.[3] Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres visited Ashgabat in 1994, when a series of bilateral agreements were signed, and Health Minister Ephraim Sneh visited in 1995.[8][3] Turkmen President Saparmyrat Niyazov visited Jerusalem, as did then-Turkmen health minister Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who later became president.[8]

In 2009, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman raised the prospect of upgrading Israel's representation to a resident embassy in Ashgabat, and Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow approved the idea.[7] According to a 2014 study, Turkmenistan rejected two proposed Israeli ambassadors on the grounds that they had intelligence backgrounds, an episode the authors attributed to Iranian sensitivities.[7] Diplomatic talks between 2010 and 2013 sought an arrangement for a resident Israeli ambassador acceptable to both sides.[3]

Israel's embassy in Ashgabat opened in 2013, when Shmi Tzur became the first resident Israeli ambassador and presented his credentials to President Berdimuhamedow.[2][3] Turkmenistan also resumed representation in Israel that year by appointing Ata Serdarov as a non-resident ambassador; from 2017, Turkmenistan's ambassador in Rome held responsibility for relations with Israel.[3] The Israeli diplomatic team operated from temporary premises in Ashgabat until the inauguration of permanent offices in 2023.[2]

The Israeli embassy's timeline describes 2014–2023 as a period of deepening and expanding relations. Political consultations in Ashgabat and Jerusalem addressed commerce, high technology, water resources, health, tourism, energy, agriculture, education, and a possible C5+1 cooperation framework.[8]

Economic ties have been described as limited but with potential in energy, agriculture, water, technology, medical equipment, and security.[3] In the early years of the relationship, the Israeli company Merhav was a major Israeli business presence in Turkmenistan, undertaking large-scale construction and energy-infrastructure renovation projects.[3] A 2007 report described Merhav chairman Joseph (Yossi) Maiman's engagement with Turkmenistan on a proposed program spanning education, healthcare, agriculture, oil and gas, and chemicals. It reported existing investments totaling $1.7 billion and a further proposed investment of $3 billion.[10] Projects under discussion included rebuilding the Seyydi oil refinery, establishing a polypropylene plant, and further modernizing the Turkmenbashi refinery complex.[10]

Merhav's activity declined following Turkmenistan's change of president in 2007.[3] A 2025 analysis states that Maiman also served as Israel's special ambassador to Turkmenistan and helped foster diplomatic ties; its author argues that Maiman's death in 2021 left a gap in Israel's ability to engage effectively with the country.[11] From 2017, economic activity resumed gradually, driven mainly by private Israeli companies involved in cybersecurity and security equipment.[3]

Israel's international development agency MASHAV has been described as the Israeli embassy's most active area of work in Turkmenistan. Turkmen participation in MASHAV training has covered agriculture, water, education, women's empowerment, medicine, and entrepreneurship.[3] Because some projects were difficult to implement directly with the local government and assistance from Israel was considered sensitive, certain activities were conducted through United Nations agencies and described as development cooperation.[3]

The bilateral agreements framework covers diplomatic cooperation between the foreign ministries, health and medicine, investment promotion and protection, tourism, and temporarily valid air-transport arrangements. An agreement on culture, education, and science is listed as in progress.[8] In 2021, Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein and his Turkmen counterpart signed a health-cooperation agreement covering 2021–2025.[8]

Cultural contacts have included an embassy-supported visit to Israel by a Turkmen painter and a subsequent exhibition, visits by Turkmen sports teams, and Israeli participation in an international scientific conference in Turkmenistan.[3]

The Jewish population in Turkmenistan is small. Estimates from the Israeli embassy and community members cited in the U.S. State Department's 2023 International Religious Freedom Report placed the number at approximately 200.[12] The Israeli embassy reported no known incidents of antisemitism in Turkmenistan during 2023.[12] Foreign Minister Cohen met members of the community during his April 2023 visit.[13]

On April 20, 2023, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen inaugurated Israel's new permanent embassy offices in Ashgabat. The resident embassy itself had opened in 2013, but its diplomatic team had operated from temporary premises during the intervening decade.[2][3] Cohen met President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Foreign Minister Raşit Meredow, and other officials.[4] His trip was the first visit by an Israeli foreign minister since Shimon Peres traveled to Turkmenistan in 1994.[4]

Cohen said the visit was intended to deepen cooperation in agriculture, water management, the economy, energy, border protection, regional security, cyber technology, and education.[4] Meredow described the opening as historic and emphasized the importance of stronger political, diplomatic, and economic interaction.[4] President Berdimuhamedov was reported to be considering opening a Turkmen embassy in Israel, although this was presented as a possibility rather than an announced decision.[14]

The offices' location—roughly 17 kilometers from Turkmenistan's border with Iran—attracted attention because Turkmenistan also maintained extensive diplomatic, trade, infrastructure, and energy ties with Tehran.[4][3] Ynet reported that Iran had pressured Turkmenistan in an effort to prevent Cohen's visit, framing the trip as part of Israel's broader effort to cultivate relationships with countries bordering Iran.[15]

Turkmenistan's policy of positive neutrality has consistently shaped its engagement with Israel and its conduct at international forums.[6] During the Gaza war that began in October 2023, Turkmenistan did not participate in the October 27 UN vote on a resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. It also did not support a December 12 ceasefire resolution, standing apart from the other Central Asian states discussed in the analysis.[6] Turkmenistan's president refrained from making significant public statements about the conflict.[6]

A 2026 analysis characterized Turkmenistan's relations with Israel as "latent" or "dormant" rather than adversarial and treated the 2023 embassy inauguration as an important symbolic and institutional step.[5] Official Israeli records clarify that the resident embassy opened in 2013 and that the 2023 event inaugurated its new permanent offices.[2] Turkmenistan's broader voting record on Israel-related resolutions has generally aligned with members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.[3]

Published sources disagree on the year formal diplomatic relations were established. The Israeli embassy dates them to 1993, and Ynet specifies October 1993.[8][3] Maariv instead gives 1992.[16] The verified official Israeli record therefore supports 1993, while the 1992 date remains a published discrepancy.

Reported trade figures also diverge substantially. The Jerusalem Post placed bilateral trade at approximately $8 million around Cohen's 2023 visit.[4] JNS, citing an unnamed Israeli Foreign Ministry official, instead reported an increase from $200 million in the preceding year to an expected $500 million in 2023; the reports do not provide a shared definition or measurement basis.[17]

The World Jewish Congress page lists Israel as represented in Turkmenistan by its ambassador in Moscow.[18] This conflicts with the official Israeli embassy page, which records the opening of the resident embassy in Ashgabat in 2013.[2] The discrepancy appears to reflect outdated reference information rather than evidence that the Ashgabat mission did not exist.