ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, October 17. Turkmenistan is looking to strengthen its partnership with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on priority areas of cooperation, including the implementation of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project, Trend reports via Turkmenistan's Foreign Ministry.
According to the information, this became known in the framework of the visit of the delegation headed by Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov to Pakistan to participate in the meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government.
The Turkmen side emphasized that the current state of relations with the SCO provides real opportunities for imparting new impetus to cooperation in such areas as transport, communications, energy, trade, and investment.
Moreover, special attention was paid to joint infrastructure projects that can strengthen interaction with SCO member states and partners, with a focus on the TAPI project as a key initiative for energy security in the region.
To note, TAPI is a large-scale project to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan to India. Construction of the pipeline, designed to supply 33 bcm of gas per year, began in Turkmenistan on December 13, 2015.
Turkmenistan is a major gas supplier and plays a key role in the development of the pipeline in an effort to diversify energy export routes and strengthen regional economic ties.
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