On 18 November 2025, a conference titled “Turkmen–French Relations: Challenges and Prospects in a Fragmented World” was held in the conference hall of the Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques (IRIS) in Paris. The event was jointly organized by IRIS and the Embassy of Turkmenistan in France.
It was dedicated to the International Year of Peace and Trust, the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s permanent Neutrality, as well as the promotion of the literary heritage of the great Turkmen poet Magtymguly Fragi.
The conference was attended by representatives of the diplomatic, academic, and cultural circles of Turkmenistan and France, research centers, academic institutions, public organizations, and scholars of the Magtymguly Institute of Language, Literature and National Manuscripts of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan.
Speakers included Maksat Charyyev, Ambassador of Turkmenistan to France; Gulsat Yusupova, Rector of the Institute of International Relations of the MFA of Turkmenistan; Christian Lechervy, Ambassador of France to Myanmar and former Ambassador of France to Turkmenistan; Sami Ramdani, IRIS researcher; Emmanuel Lincot, Director of Research at IRIS; and Shamuhammet Charyyev, lecturer at Magtymguly Turkmen State University.
In his remarks, Ambassador Charyyev emphasized that, in a context of increasing global fragmentation, the international community increasingly needs stable models of engagement based on trust and the diplomacy of dialogue. He noted that Turkmenistan has consistently pursued its policy of permanent neutrality for thirty years, and that this status has been recognized three times by the UN General Assembly. According to the Ambassador, neutrality has become the foundation of the country’s foreign policy, ensuring a predictable course, openness to partnership, and Turkmenistan’s contribution to strengthening peace and stability in Central Asia.