Turkmenistan, Afghanistan approve inter-MFA cooperation program

KABUL: (MEP) – program on cooperation between the foreign ministries of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan for 2014-2015 has been signed in Ashgabat, a message from the government of Turkmenistan said on March 4.

The document envisaging the holding of political consultations on bilateral, regional and international cooperation, consular issues and implementation of joint projects was worked out and signed within the recent Turkmen-Afghan political consultations.

The Afghan delegation was headed by the country’s Foreign Minister Zarar Ahmad Osmani, according to the message of the Turkmen government.

“The priorities of cooperation between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan were discussed during the meeting. The parties also exchanged views on the implementation of certain economic and infrastructure projects related to Afghanistan,” according to the message from the Turkmen government.

Turkmenistan, which has a long border with Afghanistan, has repeatedly put forward a number of initiatives on economic and social revival of its neighbor. These initiatives have been appreciated by the UN and the OSCE.

In early 2013 Ashgabat hosted an international meeting on assistance to Afghanistan, which brought together representatives of neighboring states, international organizations and potential donor countries.

Works are underway for creation of the Atamyrat-Imamnazar-Akina-Andhoi (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan) railway at Ashgabat’s initiative.

Ashgabat is also working on a project that allows significantly increasing the volume of exports of Turkmen electricity to Afghanistan.

Construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline is one of the largest proposed projects. Ashgabat believes that alongside with purely economic tasks, its implementation will also allow to resolve important social and humanitarian issues, including those related to creation of additional jobs and formation of infrastructure.