The Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi with his Turkmenistan counterpart Rashid Murdov, had visited the construction site of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project near the common border between the two countries. During the visit, they reviewed the operational affairs of the TAPI pipeline, where both the officials discussed laying the railway track, optical fiber transfer and visa and transportation facilities.
Spokesman for the Afghan Foreign Ministry Hafiz Zia Ahmad said that the discussions “extended beyond the TAPI pipeline project to include the expansion of the railway, the construction of railway warehouses in Torghundi, the deployment of fiber optic networks, and the facilitation of visa issuance and transportation services.”
The Turkmen Foreign Minister provided a comprehensive briefing on the progress of the TAPI pipeline, the acceleration of construction activities, and the next steps in the Project, Zia said in a statement.
The $7 billion TAPI project will bring natural gas to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India
The $7 billion Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline, also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Galkynysh – TAPI Pipeline Company Limited with the participation of the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport natural gas from the Galkynysh Gas Field in Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. The official work on the project was opened on 13 December 2015 in Turkmenistan and the practical work in Afghanistan began on 11 September 2024.
The pipeline will have a capacity to carry 33 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan and India through Afghanistan’s provinces of Herat, Farah, Helmand and Nimroz.
It is worth mentioning that the much-delayed project was first signed in 2010 but the work has been put on hold due to technical and financial complications. The work was also stalled due disagreement between the archrivals Pakistan and India. However, the four countries Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India agreed to work on the TAPI pipeline project
However, the work on the Afghan side remained stuck due to war and the Taliban’s war against the foreign forces and the Afghan regime in that time backed by the US. However, the Taliban resumed work on the TAPI following their victory and the escape of the then Afghan President Ashraf Ghani following the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan after 20 years of presence.
Taliban spokesman Zia Ahmad, said that Muttaqi and Murdov reaffirmed their commitment to expediting the TAPI project, expanding railway infrastructure, improving energy and transport services, and enhancing broader economic cooperation. He furthered that the technical teams will continue their engagements in Kabul and Ashgabat to achieve these objectives.
