Neutrality Day of Turkmenistan

Bitaraplyk bayramy is translated from Turkmen as Neutrality Day, and is the second most important celebration for the state of Turkmenistan. It has been celebrated annually on December 12 for more than twenty years. It began in 1995, when the United Nations General Assembly (fiftieth session) approved a resolution supporting the idea of ​​Turkmenistan to become a state with the status of stable neutrality. This day is a day off in the country; ceremonial events and festive concerts are held in all settlements. It has become traditional to lay flowers in front of the Neutrality Monument in Ashgabat by the top leadership of Turkmenistan. The monument has long become a symbol of the Turkmen people’s loyalty to the ideals of goodness, peace, and creation. Thanks to the assigned status of neutrality, Turkmenistan is equidistant from the military-political blocs existing in the world, and is also exempt from placing foreign military bases on the country’s territory. However, in order to ensure a decent level of defense capability, the state is improving military-technical partnerships with Russia, Turkey, the United States and other countries on a bilateral basis. According to the head of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, thanks to the legal definition of Turkmenistan as a permanently neutral state, the country has created extensive opportunities for implementing a consistent political course of humanism, observing the age-old principles of good neighborliness, friendship and peace-loving nature of the Turkmen people. On the day of celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the permanently neutral status in Ashgabat, at the International Conference, the President of Turkmenistan took the initiative to proclaim December 12 as the International Day of Neutrality. His proposal was unanimously supported by all forum participants, among whom were many distinguished guests from different countries. The result of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov’s initiative was the seventy-first session of the UN General Assembly, held on February 2, 2017, at which the Resolution declaring December 12 as the International Day of Neutrality was unanimously approved. This fact once again confirmed the high authority of Turkmenistan in the world community and undeniable respect for its significant contribution to guarantees of regional and global peace, security and stable development.