Neutrality Day of Turkmenistan ( tk, Bitaraplyk baýramy) is the second most important state holiday in

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...

. This date is celebrated in Turkmenistan annually on December 12. It coincides with the International Day of Neutrality as well as Students Day (since 2003), which is marked together with Neutrality Day. It has been dubbed as Turkmenistan's "second significant national holiday".

Background

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of pres ...

Resolution number 50/80 was adopted on December 12, 1995, which expressed the hope that "the status of permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan will contribute to peace and security in the region." The resolution calls on UN to respect and maintain the neutrality of Turkmenistan.

Festivities

In Neutrality Day across the Central Asian republic are mass festivities and holiday concerts.

Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies ...

hosts international conference. In 2005, on the holiday's 10th anniversary, a parade of the

Armed Forces of Turkmenistan The Armed Forces of Turkmenistan ( tk, Türkmenistanyň Ýaragly Güýçleri), known informally as the Turkmen National Army () is the national military of Turkmenistan. It consists of the Ground Forces, the Air Force and Air Defense Forces, ...

led by Colonel Kairam Bairamov was held in the

Ashgabat Stadium The Ashgabat Stadium ( tk, Aşgabat stadiony) is a multi-purpose stadium in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. It is currently used mostly for celebrations and football matches. The stadium holds 20,000 people and was built in 2011. History In 2009, on ...

. In 2012, the country for the first time had all events on this date pushed back to previous days.

25th anniversary of neutrality celebrations

2020 celebrated the 25th anniversary of Turkmen neutrality. President

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 29 June 1957), also known as Arkadag (Cyrillic: Аркадаг, "protector"), is a Turkmen politician who served as the second president of Turkmenistan from 2006 to 2022. A dentist by profe ...

received congratulations from Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, Chinese leader

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

and Belarusian president

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лукашенко, Aleksandr Grigoryevich Luk ...

on the occasion. The president presented Turkmen medals to 20 foreign dignitaries including former

United Nations Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Ministe ...

, Russian ambassador to Turkmenistan Alexander Blokhin, and former Japanese Prime Minister

Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍晋三, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 20 ...

. The celebrations came under the motto "Turkmenistan - Homeland of Neutrality". An international exhibition beginning on 2 December and ending on Neutrality Day was held at the Expo Centre of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan. A Turkmen-funded mosque for 500 people was inaugurated in the

Faryab Province Faryab (Dari: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, which is located in the north of the country bordering neighboring Turkmenistan. It has a population of about 1,109,223, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a tribal society. The pr ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

on Neutrality Day.

References

{{reflist December observances Public holidays in Turkmenistan 1990s establishments in Turkmenistan National holidays