On 26th February, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov and an Afghan delegation led by acting Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi met in Ashgabat to discuss large-scale energy and transport projects.
The negotiations focused on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) high-voltage power transmission line, and the construction of railways from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan. The Turkmen Foreign Ministry cited ‘a high degree of readiness’ on both sides to continue the construction of these facilities in Afghanistan.
TAPI is a major project to transfer Turkmenistan’s natural gas to Pakistan and India through Afghanistan. The construction of the pipeline in Afghanistan, long delayed by financial and security issues, will stretch for 1,840 km and transport more than 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from Turkmenistan’s giant Galkynysh gas field. Once completed, the TAPI pipeline will provide Turkmenistan with an additional gas export route, while Afghanistan will receive both its own volume of gas and some $400 million a year in revenue from transit charges.
The two foreign ministers also agreed to explore the potential of training specialists in various sectors of the Afghan economy within Turkmen higher and secondary vocational educational institutions.
According to Afghan statistics, trade between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan reached $481 million in 2023.
