President leaves for Turkmenistan

Indian PM not likely to attend signing of Tapi pipeline deal.

ISLAMABAD/ ASHGABAT:

President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday embarked on a three-day visit to Turkmenistan where he will sign a trans-national gas pipeline agreement.

According to details, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (Tapi) pipeline stretching over 1,640 kms will pass through Afghan territory to link with Pakistan’s national gas network near Multan and terminate at Fazilka in India.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is not likely to attend the signing of the agreement as he has left on a three-day visit to Belgium to participate in the India-EU summit, diplomatic sources said. Indian Petroleum Minister Murli Deora is likely to lead his country’s delegation.

Under the project, Pakistan will get 30 billion cubic metres of gas annually and has also indicated that in case India backs out at any stage, it will be willing to purchase additional gas.

Turkmenistan has the world’s fourth largest proven gas reserves and is already supplying the fuel to Russia and China.

Pipeline wins US support, security key concern

The United States has expressed its support for the project. Susan Elliott, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, told an energy conference in Ashgabat last month that the pipeline would create jobs in Afghanistan.

She said it was “a good example of how Turkmenistan’s resources could benefit other countries in the region.”

However, building the pipeline through some of Afghanistan’s most volatile regions presents a major challenge. The proposed route runs from western Herat, near the Iranian border, through the southern Taliban heartlands of Helmand and Kandahar.

Security is likely to be discussed when Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berd-ymukhamedov hosts his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, as well as Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2010.