Afghanistan is one of main partners of Turkmenistan, says Turkmen president

Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow who arrived in Kabul on Thursday emphasized on the settlement of disputes through diplomatic challenges of Afghanistan and the United Nations intervenes.

In a press conference in Presidential Palace with President Ashraf Ghani, President Berdimuhamedow said that his country is ready to cooperate in Afghan government Peace Talks process and sending a political representative to the country.

“Turkmenistan as a neutral country is ready to cooperate for the Afghan government negotiations and we can send your political representative to the country of our brothers.” President Berdimuhamedow said.

President Berdimuhamedow stressed on continuation of economic and security cooperation with Afghanistan, saying the implementation of the TAPI project will begin this year.

According to the feasibility of the project, the 1735 km long TAPI pipeline will start from the eastern region of Turkmenistan, where the largest gas fields are situated, and, after passing through the territory of Afghanistan and Pakistan will reach settlement of Fazilka (India) on the Pakistani-Indian border.

Turkmenistan, especially under the new President Berdimuhamedow, has played a small, but positive role in Afghanistan’s development and reconstruction. Ashgabat has delivered humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and forgiven much of Kabul’s debt for Turkmen electrical power. Turkmenistan continues to supply Afghanistan with energy at a deep discount, and Ashgabat has reconstructed a portion of the railway that will connect the two countries.

Afghanistan and Turkemnistan representatives have signed five agreements on combat against money laundering, economic, technology cooperation and sports in this meeting.

In the meantime, President Ghani said that Turkmenistan makes power export to Afghanistan five times more and railway construction work will shortly begin Between Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

President Ashraf Ghani reaffirmed the Afghan government’s commitment to strengthen bilateral ties with neighboring Turkmenistan.

The deteriorating security situation in northern parts of the country, President Ghani said, might have affected the progress of work on large economic projects but he said the government has taken serious measures to improve security across Afghanistan, particularly in the northern provinces.

Upon the completion of these projects, President Ghani said the western province of Herat will turn into a transit zone and Afghanistan will get connected to Caspian Sea through Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Turkmenistan lies along the northwest frontier of Afghanistan, adjacent to the Afghan provinces of Herat, Badghis, Faryab, and Jowzjan. The 462-mile (744-km) border sits in a plain that extends from northern Afghanistan into the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan’s relations with Afghanistan have been limited in recent decades owing to the former’s isolation under the rule of the eccentric communist dictator Saparmurat Niyazov.