Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, newly independent Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan made strides throughout the 1990s and early 2000s to begin formalizing their State borders at the international level. During this period, both States placed a heavy emphasis on delimiting and demarcating their international boundaries. Originally defined as an internal Soviet frontier, the Turkmen–Kazakh border has remained relatively unchanged and largely uncontentious, although the complete demarcation of their international boundary has taken roughly 26 years to complete. It extends for 437 kilometers (272 miles) from the Caspian Sea through the Ustyurt Plateau to a tripoint with Uzbekistan. While Turkmenistan generally maintains a policy of neutrality, the country has steadily increased its economic and political cooperation with Kazakhstan over the past few years, despite the Covid-19 pandemic and other regional conflicts. This relationship has expanded each State’s roles in the region and brought the Central Asian countries closer politically, economically and culturally.