Overview: The Government of Turkmenistan continued its efforts to improve the capacity of law enforcement agencies to combat terrorism, ensure border security, and detect terrorist financing. The government continued to cooperate with international organizations and participated in the C5+1 regional framework to counter international terrorism. Turkmen authorities continued to maintain close surveillance on its population and borders.

2019 Terrorist Incidents: There were no reported terrorist incidents in Turkmenistan in 2019.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: There were no reported changes in 2019.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Turkmenistan belongs to the EAG, and the government continued to express interest in gaining admission to the Egmont Group. During 2019, the Government of Turkmenistan cooperated with and attended trainings offered by international organizations such as the UN and the OSCE on responding to CT threats, combating money laundering, and other CFT issues. The Turkmen government continued to monitor and regulate alternative remittance services, collected data on wire transfers, and monitored non-profit organizations, purportedly to prevent misuse of financing to sponsor terrorist activities.

Countering Violent Extremism: In 2019, the Government of Turkmenistan cooperated with international organizations and participated in the C5+1 regional CVE framework. Turkmen government officials also participated in the C5+1 regional framework, held in August in Nur-Sultan and September in New York, to counter international terrorism. Officials also participated in a C5+1 regional workshop in Tajikistan in May, with the participation of USIP, and met with CVE experts from USIP in Ashgabat in July.

International and Regional Cooperation: Turkmenistan continued to cooperate with international and regional organizations such as the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, the UNODC, the UN Counter-Terrorism Center, the EU, the OSCE, and others.

In May 2019, a delegation from Turkmenistan met with CTED leadership during the High-Level Conference on International and Regional Cooperation on Countering Terrorism in Dushanbe. During the Commonwealth of Independent States summit in Ashgabat on October 11, the heads of state adopted and signed a Program of Cooperation among the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States in the Fight against Terrorism and Other Violent Extremism for 2020-2022.

Consultations of CIS countries on combatting terrorism were held in Ashgabat on November 14. Participants discussed widening collective actions on combatting terrorism, the role of the UN in combatting terrorism and its financial backing, and rendering the required legal assistance among the CIS partners. The parties also discussed preventive measures for “countering extremism, radicalization of the population,” and financing terrorism. They also addressed the necessity of involving civil society and mass media, holding special trainings, and the use of modern technologies for timely response to potential threats.

As a member of the C5+1 diplomatic platform, Turkmenistan participates in the associated Security Working Group, which focuses on regional CT cooperation.