Taliban’s Amir Khan Muttaqi and Turkmen Foreign Minister Discuss TAPI Project Progress
Amir Khan Muttaqi, Acting Foreign Minister under the Taliban administration, expressed optimism about the status of the TAPI project during a phone call on Sunday, October 5, with Rashid Meredov, Turkmenistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.
According to a press release issued by the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two officials discussed the development of political and economic cooperation between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan and emphasized expanding these relations.
The Taliban administration cited limited technical progress on the project as a sign of its commitment to its implementation. According to the Taliban, 14 kilometers of the TAPI pipeline have been laid in the western regions of Afghanistan.
The TAPI project aims to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan’s Galkynysh gas field through the Afghan provinces of Herat, Nimroz, and Kandahar, continuing onward to the Pakistani cities of Quetta and Multan, ultimately reaching Punjab in India.
Although the project began several years ago, its execution has been slow due to insecurity and instability linked to Taliban rule in Afghanistan. The future of the project remains uncertain.
