Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Jan.25 / Trend, H. Hasanov /
Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Turkmenbashi on a working visit yesterday, the Turkmen government said on Wednesday.
According to the report, agenda of his meeting with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov will include priority aspects of intergovernmental relations and topical regional and international policy issues of mutual interest.
"This visit and the Turkmen-Afghan high-level meeting to be held on Wednesday, will surely become another step towards further strengthening and developing friendly and neighborly intergovernmental relations," the report says.
"There are great opportunities for further enhancing of trade and economic relations," the state news service Turkmen Dovlet Khabarlary reported on Wednesday.
Turkmenistan stands for settlement of the situation in the neighboring state only diplomatic means.
Ashgabat put forward a number of initiatives, voiced from the UN tribune. The question is about involving Afghanistan into the processes of regional and interregional cooperation through its participation in major projects in various spheres.
A good example is the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. "Implementation of this large-scale energy project will directly contribute to the development of the Afghan economy, attraction of investment, social issues, including the creation of new jobs, and in general will positively affect stabilization of the situation in Afghanistan," the "Neutral Turkmenistan" newspaper reported on Wednesday.
In February 2011 it was decided to take measures to build the corresponding infrastructure that will eventually enable to reach a fivefold increase in the export of Turkmen electricity to Afghanistan.
Given the geographical situation of the two countries, a great potential for effective partnership is opened also in transportation and communications sector. Turkmenistan has initiated a project of laying Atamyrat-Ymamnazar-Akina-Andkhoy railway, which can become important link in international transit traffic in the long term.