Vice President Ansari lauds Afghanistan, Pakistan for active involvement — TAPI project

The ambitious project, considered crucial for energy-hungry India, was pitched by the U.S. as an alternative to the equally ambitious Iran-Pakistan-India gas project, but has been lying in the cold for years owing to the fear of security of the project in one of the most volatile regions of Afghanistan-Pakistan (AfPak).

Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari also attended the ceremony.

“This project is important not only because it will help us deliver energy resources”, Berdimuhammadov said. He said the project proved that Turkmenistan could carry such a huge amount of gas to places where it was required.

He touched upon other major infrastructural projects under way in the country ─ Casa-1000 and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) ─ and encouraged other regional players to “take advantage of this transformational project (CPEC)”. He will also hold a bilateral meeting with the President of Turkey.

The next phase of development at Galkynysh – the second largest natural gas field in the world – will be overseen by a consortium of Japanese and Turkish companies in addition to Turkmenistan, Berdymukhamedov said.

“Secondly, it shows that Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India will be renewing ties that bound us together for several millennia but due to the advent of Soveit Union were ruptured”, he added.

They were joined by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan and Indian Vice-President Mohamed Hamid Ansari. The four leaders also had a brief meeting where they discussed matters of mutual interest.

Nawaz Sharif said the TAPI project would bring peace and promote trade in the region. “Expecting everything from Pakistan alone is unfair”, he said.

He further assured the member countries of the TAPI project of India’s constructive and cooperative approach towards addressing issues related to the project. “There is no integrated regional cooperation in South Asia”. It was his cherished dream to forge strong connectivity and relationship with energy rich Central Asia and South Asia, he added. “Pakistan will be able to import 1325 MMcfd (Million Cubic Feet per Day) natural gas from Turkmenistan”.

“Ukraine is interested in continuing the project and expanding its capacity from 300,000 cubic meters to 600,000 cubic meters”.

While in Turkmenistan, Ansari will also participate in a ceremony to mark 20 years of the United Nations recognising Turkmenistan’s permanent “positive neutrality”. The relationship with these countries unfortunately remained uneven in the last 65 years but now it was hoped that the same would be settled. “Once we decide that we have to resolve Pakistan-India issues on table, we’ll resolve these issues”. I am confident that we can rely on your continued support in the days ahead.

Nawaz Sharif’s comments come just ahead of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s Parliament briefing on the outcome of the dialogue in the past two weeks.

In turn, president of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani said that the laying of TAPI is a historic moment because, in his words, “it was possible to overcome the period of doubts and skepticism”.

He made it clear that there would be no peace within unless without.