Pakistan, Turkmenistan agree on early completion of TAPI project

President, PM to attend inauguration of pipeline’s Afghan section

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain and his Turkmen counterpart have acknowledged the importance of early implementation of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (Tapi) gas pipeline project.

Discussing the issue during a phone call to Hussain on Saturday, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said Turkmenistan had completed the rail network up till the border of Afghanistan and “expressed his desire to extend it to Pakistan”.

According to a statement from the Foreign Office, the Turkmen president invited Pakistan to witness the ground-breaking ceremony for the Afghanistan section of the Tapi gas pipeline project scheduled to be held in February on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan border.



Official sources told The Express Tribune that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was also expected to attend the ceremony along with President Hussain. A separate invitation would soon be issued to the PM Office by the office of Turkmenistan’s Vice President and Foreign Minister Rasit Meredown, an official said.

Government sources claimed that Abbasi was being invited to attend the ground-breaking ceremony in recognition for his services in pursing the gas pipeline project.

Prior to assuming charge as the PM on Aug 1, Abbasi remained petroleum minister in the cabinet of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and is said to have been actively involved in the deliberations and progress related to Tapi pipeline.

In October, PM Abbasi had “reiterated Pakistan’s strong commitment to the early operationalisation of the Tapi gas pipeline project as it holds a huge potential for meeting Pakistan’s energy needs”. He was talking to Ambassador of Turkmenistan Atadjan Nurlyevich Movlamov who paid a courtesy call at the PM Office.

In March, the project entered its practical phase in Pakistan after the process of initiating front-end engineering and design route survey was inaugurated.

“It is a great moment for Pakistan to witness the launch of the project in its practical form after a period of 22 years,” PM Abbasi said at the inauguration ceremony.



The FO statement on Saturday said the presidents of Pakistan and Turkmenistan expressed satisfaction at the current level of bilateral relationship between the two countries. They agreed that both sides needed to make efforts to enhance the economic relations through joint ventures in the agriculture, textile, livestock and IT sectors.

President Hussain welcomed the Turkmen efforts aimed at enhancing connectivity between both countries and the region, a press release said.

President Berdimuhamedov conveyed New Year greetings and expressed his gratitude to Hussain for witnessing the inaugural ceremony of the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games held in September in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

Hussain thanked the Turkmen president for the “warm message of felicitations on the occasion of New Year and conveyed New Year greetings to the Turkmen president as well as the people of Turkmenistan. President Mamnoon Hussain also conveyed his best wishes for the ‘Neutrality Day’ of Turkmenistan, which was celebrated on Dec 12”.