Iran’s Key Role as Turkmenistan’s Gateway to the World Market

Abstract

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Iran was the second country, after Turkey to recognize an independent Turkmenistan in the year 1991. This sincere diplomatic attitude by Iran did not end there, it was also reflected in the economic, political and socio-cultural relations it established with the country in the coming days. The 1,148 km long land border, sharing the Caspian Sea border, thousands of years of historical relations and the more than 1 million Turkmen living in Iran make Iran a natural and ancient ally of Turkmenistan. This article examines the post-Soviet economic, diplomatic and political relations between Turkmenistan and Iran. In particular, it underlines how Iran plays the key role of being a gateway to Turkmenistan, which is a landlocked country, and therefore has a strategic role in diversifying the energy routes for the future of the country and opening channels to Turkmenistan from highways and railways. In addition, it discusses how Russia's efforts to monopolize Turkmenistan and the US embargo of Iran affect bilateral relations, and that despite this, the two ancient, friendly countries have developed new strategies to strengthen their relations.