At a February 26th meeting between the foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, Amirkhan Muttaki and Rashid Meredov, Turkmenistan agreed to increase the amount of electricity it supplies to Afghanistan’s Herat province. This electricity will be supplied via the Nur al-Jihad power substation, which Turkmenistan had previously upgraded.
Last month Turkmenistan and the Afghan electricity company Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) concluded an agreement for Turkmenistan to supply Afghanistan with 1.8 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity. The contract was agreed by DABS CEO Muhammad Hanif Hamza during his January visit to Turkmenistan, where he held meetings with the management of the energy corporation Turkmenenergo and with the country’s minister of energy, Annageldi Saparov.
The cost of Turkmenistan’s electricity supply to Afghanistan has not been revealed, but a representative of the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry told the news portal Tolo News that it is “inexpensive”.
Turkmenistan supplies a significant portion of Afghanistan’s electricity, but the two nations’ connection run deeper than just the energy sector, with 1.2 million ethnic Turkmen living in Afghanistan.
