Turkmenistan, not exactly the first name in the international almanac for years, being part of the former Soviet Union, has slowly but steadily marched on to carve a niche as an energy baron and attracts an international clientele backed by an expanding hotel industry.

Turkmenistan, a gas-rich desert, bordered by Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, wasn’t really in the international eye until recently. When hoteliers began to take notice of booming hotels, when Prime Ministers of all kinds of nations began visiting it, when film crews were restricted from filming everywhere, and when a great golden statue of the ruler punctuated the skyline, the world began taking notice, as all of these events fell together. Turkmenistan was fashioning a place for itself in the world; that was abundantly clear.

President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has an iron grip over the world’s fourth largest reserve of natural gas resources and he brandishes it at will, laying the will of the people as his first mandate, even at the risk of international criticism. After independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, judging by modern day practices, Turkmenistan seems to have only applied free market to its single commodity and to little else. A country of draconian restrictions, lack of free press, shying away from the global media and free access to global contact, there is a certain wondering in the world about how to deal with a nation that is so important to world fuel economy and yet so perversely under the grip of a dominating leader.

While there may be plenty of criticism headed the way of the Turkmenistan government, the obvious and aggressive approach towards world market have also garnered the appreciation of a world that wants to get onto the new bandwagon of an alternate energy supplier. The TAPI Pipeline Project is a good example of this appreciation and the solution-oriented approach of the leaders to work with countries it hasn’t even indirectly dealt with, in the past.

The Turkmenistan State Company is responsible for the extraction of most of the country’s oil and the reserve estimate is 700 million tons, which makes Turkmenistan a key player to most country’s that have demanding fuel needs, and most especially developing nations like India, whose government has already arranged visits to the nation.

While there may be plenty of criticism headed the way of the Turkmenistan government, the obvious and aggressive approach towards world market have also garnered the appreciation of a world that wants to get onto the new bandwagon of an alternate energy supplier.

The country has another surprising feather in its economic cap. It is the world’s ninth largest producer of cotton. With half the country’s arable land focused on cotton production, it exports the valuable cash crop to Russia, Iran, South Korea, Britain, China, Indonesia, Turkey, Ukraine, Singapore and the Baltic nations.

Despite the concern about freedom of press, the lack of apparent integration with democratic values, the European Union has no trouble in turning to Turkmenistan so that its energy dependence on unpredictable, controversial Russia can reduce immediately. By 2019, the European Commission will start receiving natural gas from Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan and Turkey have also signed an agreement to supply gas to the proposed Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline project (TANAP). This will take gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz II field in the Caspian Sea. For this to happen, Turkmenistan must build a 300-kilometre link under the Caspian Sea, which is a disputed area between Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan. TANAP will be constructed from the Turkish-Georgian border to Turkey's border with Bulgaria and Greece. This will allow the easy supply from 2019.

The TAPI pipeline, undertaken by the four countries Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India is to allow for the supply of gas, bypassing Iran and Russia. This, in some form, recreates the old Silk Road route. This has recently brought a spate of visits from Pakistani and Indian delegations at the highest levels.

Interest in Turkmenistan is coming from all corners, including Malaysia’s Petronas Charigali that has opened a tender in Turkmenistan very recently for drilling related equipment. Turkey already has a considerable presence in Turkmenistan through several projects, prominent being Calik Holding and the Avaza Resort.

Tourism in Turkmenistan is not for everyone. It’s a uniquely placed country with interesting sights, like the town of Merv which is a UNESCO protected heritage site, underground thermal lakes and the Karakum desert, within which lies the famous Darvaza or Door to Hell.

Turkmenistan is making the news. That’s a certainty. It remains to be seen if the leadership goes in a direction that will take the country to a new place among prominent nations of the world.