Kazakhstan–Turkmenistan border
A desert border running west to the Caspian Sea, one of the least contested in Central Asia. The two countries agreed it on paper in 2001, signed a deal to mark it on the ground in 2017, and extended it out into the Caspian by treaty in 2021.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 30 September 2026Suggest a correction
See it on the globe:Kazakhstan →Turkmenistan →
Settled early
When the Soviet Union broke up, the Central Asian states inherited internal boundaries drawn with little regard for geography or ethnicity. Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan largely avoided the disputes that followed in the Fergana Valley: they signed a delimitation agreement in July 2001, and in November 2017 the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan signed a treaty on the point where their borders meet.[1]
On 18 April 2017, during a state visit by Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the two countries signed an agreement to demarcate the border on the ground. President Nursultan Nazarbayev said they would be the only two Central Asian countries with no border issues left unresolved, and praised the new Kazakhstan–Turkmenistan–Iran railway across the border.[2]
“We will be the only two countries [in Central Asia] that do not have any border issues remaining unresolved.”[2]
Into the Caspian
In October 2021 the two countries signed a treaty in Ashgabat delimiting their border in the Caspian Sea, dividing territorial waters and fishing zones. Turkmenistan ratified it in April 2022 and Kazakhstan in October 2022; Kazakhstan’s foreign minister said it would complete the delimitation of all of Kazakhstan’s borders.[3]
Timeline
2001July 2001
Delimitation agreement
The land border is agreed on paper.[1]
201718 April 2017
Demarcation agreement
The two countries agree to mark the line.[2]
201710 November 2017
Tripoint treaty
The meeting point with Uzbekistan is fixed.[1]
2021October 2021
Caspian treaty
The border is extended into the sea.[3]
More borders
Sources
- [1]Current State of Border Issues in Central Asia · Eurasian Research Institute · 2 February 2018
- [2]Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan Sign Strategic Partnership Agreement, Border Accord · The Astana Times · 20 April 2017
- [3]Kazakhstan ratifies demarcation agreement with Turkmenistan on Caspian Sea · Anadolu Agency · 20 October 2022
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.