US Lauds Turkmenistan for TAPI Project

US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake has praised Turkmenistan for putting forward important projects like Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline.

Blake and Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov held a meeting on June 26 in Ashgabat to discuss regional infrastructural issues, particularly related to Afghanistan, Azer News reporting citing Turkmen Dovlat Khabarlary news agency.

The TAPI pipeline project with design capacity of 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year will extend from Galkhynysh -- the largest gas field in Turkmenistan -- through the Afghan cities of Herat and Kandahar to the final point on the Pakistani-Indian border.

TAPI is currently at an important stage of development.

Observers say that the main benefit of the project is an opportunity to contribute to the stabilization of Afghanistan, and its implementation could contribute to the rehabilitation process in the post-war country as it will create jobs and provide Afghanistan with guaranteed income from transit, Azer News said.