ASHGABAT (SW): Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India are set to launch the much-awaited TAPI gas pipeline project in Ashgabat on Sunday.
A day earlier, President Muhammad Ashraf Ghani said Turkmenistan has played the role of an exemplary neighbor for Afghanistan and the region.
Ghani said this following his arrival in Ashgabat on Saturday during a conference to mark Turkmenistan's 20th anniversary of its policy of permanent neutrality. The Afghan President said regional countries should learn from Turkmenistan as how to achieve economic growth by remaining neutral and focusing on cooperation.
The President said that some region countries kept send terrorists to Afghanistan rather than cooperating while Turkmenistan always helped and supported Afghanistan. In his remarks during the conference, Ghani said that the impartial policies of Turkmenistan not just brought prosperity to itself but also helped promote peace in the region.
He added that the ties between Kabul and Ashgabat are deep and both countries look forward to further consolidate the friendly ties.
The multi-billion dollar deal would see natural gas transporting from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. The pipeline is expected to be operational by December 2018. Parts of the The 1,735 kilometres (1,078 mi) in Afghanistan will be constructed alongside the Kandahar–Herat Highway, and then via Quetta and Multan in Pakistan.
Afghanistan will have the right to use 600 million to 5 billion cubic meters of gas per annum, and to earn about $ 400 million per year in transit fees.
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