Unfortunately for those of us who really love Turkmenistan, or those who are hoping to go there for the first time, Turkmenistan is going to remain closed to foreigners for the near future. This is despite the fact there has been no officially recorded cases of COVID-19.
Although no official announcements have been made, for the last 12 months, the government of Turkmenistan and Turkmen officials have been working on the assumption that the country will not be opening back up until 2023.
Until then you’ll just have to explore and enjoy the other Central Asian republics that have all opened up to foreign travellers.
Signs for Turkmenistan are looking slightly up though as Turkmenistan Airlines has announced they’ll be expanding their services, almost coming to a complete stop in 2020.
On the other hand, the Turkmenistan government has just introduced tighter restrictions to try and prevent the spread of the Omicron variant, out of concern it could hypothetically overwhelm their medical system.
Turkmenistan is also due for a change of President soon, with long term President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announcing his intention to retire in favour of younger generations of leaders. Favourite to become the next President is the current President’s son, Serdar Berdymukhamedov. Hopefully for those of us wishing to visit the country, the change of leadership might see a change of policy towards its borders.