The emergence of the institution of neutrality has deep historical roots. It took shape over several centuries, but it developed the most in the 18th and especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially, neutrality was regarded as the right of states to neutral trade. However, under the influence of various factors, neutrality began to be viewed as a scientific category and as the essential institution of international law. The status of neutrality is enshrined in international law and in the legal system of a number of states.

Turkmenistan is a country of ancient civilisations; historical sources testify to wide political and diplomatic cooperation of the ancestors of the Turkmen people with the Chinese and Romans, which resulted in the formation of a unique system of political balance in the vast territories of Asia. The main factors of the progress of the Turkmen states of antiquity and the Middle Ages were a wide openness to the world and a commitment to a continuous dialogue with other states and nations.