Tariq Saeedi
As the world gathers in Ashgabat on December 12 to mark the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s permanent neutrality, it’s a moment not just for reflection but for envisioning bolder horizons.
This milestone underscores how neutrality isn’t merely a stance of abstention—it’s a strategic choice that fosters peace, stability, and unencumbered collaboration in an increasingly polarized global landscape.
Turkmenistan, with its UN-recognized neutral status, stands as a beacon in Central Asia, where neighbors like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan also pursue de facto neutrality through balanced, multi-vector foreign policies that avoid entanglements in major power blocs.
This shared ethos opens doors to partnerships with like-minded nations elsewhere, particularly in Africa, where several countries uphold similar principles of non-alignment. By examining these African states and their potential synergies with Central Asia, we can see how neutrality could catalyze durable, mutually beneficial ties in economy, science, education, research, and beyond.
Africa’s foreign policy landscape is diverse, shaped by colonial legacies, regional dynamics, and the continent’s pivotal role in the Non-Aligned Movement, which counts nearly all its nations as members.
Yet, amid this, a cadre of countries stands out for their commitment to neutrality, eschewing formal military alliances or blocs that could compromise their sovereignty. These include South Africa, which has steadfastly declared itself non-aligned, as evidenced by its balanced approach to global conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war; Algeria, a founding pillar of non-alignment with a foreign policy rooted in independence from major powers; Ethiopia, which maintains a pragmatic neutrality to focus on internal development and regional mediation; Tanzania, heir to Julius Nyerere’s visionary non-aligned ethos; Botswana, renowned for its stable, neutral diplomacy that prioritizes economic growth over military entanglements; and Namibia, which emerged from liberation struggles with a constitution emphasizing peaceful international relations.
These nations aren’t part of entities like the Alliance of Sahel States or major non-NATO ally programs, allowing them to navigate global affairs with flexibility and focus on self-reliance.
What makes these African countries compelling partners for Central Asia is the profound compatibility in their developmental trajectories and resource endowments. Take the economic sphere: Both regions are rich in natural resources yet grapple with diversification challenges.
Algeria’s vast natural gas reserves mirror Turkmenistan’s energy dominance, creating opportunities for joint ventures in sustainable extraction technologies, pipeline infrastructure, and green energy transitions including collaborative projects under frameworks like the Belt and Road Initiative or bilateral trade pacts that bypass geopolitical tensions.
Similarly, South Africa’s advanced mining sector, with expertise in gold, platinum, and rare earths, aligns seamlessly with Kazakhstan’s uranium and mineral wealth, potentially leading to shared investments in value-added processing plants that reduce dependency on raw exports.
Ethiopia’s burgeoning agricultural economy, bolstered by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, could partner with Uzbekistan’s cotton and irrigation know-how to enhance food security through tech transfers in drought-resistant crops and water management systems.
Beyond resources, science and research offer fertile ground. Central Asia’s arid climates and Africa’s diverse ecosystems face common threats from climate change, desertification, and biodiversity loss. Botswana and Namibia, with their conservation successes in wildlife management, could collaborate with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on joint research initiatives in environmental science, perhaps through shared labs or funding from international bodies like the UN Environment Programme.
Imagine cross-regional studies on sustainable land use that draw on Namibia’s community-based conservancies and Tajikistan’s mountain ecology expertise, yielding innovations in eco-tourism that boost local economies.
Education, too, holds immense promise: Student exchange programs between Tanzanian universities and those in Uzbekistan could foster skills in STEM fields, while scholarships from wealthier partners like Kazakhstan might support Algerian researchers in fields like renewable energy. These ties aren’t just academic—they build human capital, with alumni networks driving long-term innovation hubs.
Of course, partnerships aren’t limited to neutral countries alone. Even nations entangled in military alliances can—and do—engage productively with neutral states, as seen in Turkmenistan’s broad diplomatic outreach. But shared neutrality provides a unique, durable traction: It minimizes the risks of external pressures derailing collaborations, ensuring that economic deals or research projects aren’t hostages to shifting alliances.
In a world where great-power rivalries often eclipse development goals, this common ground allows for trust-based, apolitical partnerships that endure. For instance, while a militarily aligned African country might hesitate on sensitive tech sharing due to bloc obligations, neutral peers like Ethiopia and Kazakhstan can pursue unhindered cooperation in aerospace or digital infrastructure, free from such constraints.
As Turkmenistan’s anniversary conference approaches, it’s time to elevate these possibilities from rhetoric to action. By matching Africa’s neutral vanguard with Central Asia’s pragmatic non-alignment, we can forge alliances not of arms, but of aspiration—ones that prioritize prosperity over power plays.
The result? A multipolar world where neutrality isn’t isolation, but the ultimate connector. /// nCa, 26 November 2025