Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Jan.21/ Trend H. Hasanov /
A two-day meeting of the Turkmen-Indian commission for trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation starts work in New Delhi on Monday, the Turkmen government said.
By an order of the President of Turkmenistan a delegation headed by deputy chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers (Deputy Prime Minister) and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov was sent to India to attend the forum.
India and Turkmenistan are working together on a major energy project. Delhi is involved in the transnational TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline). In May 2012, the Turkmen government signed an agreement on purchase and sale of natural gas from India's GAIL Ltd. Work on the establishment of an international consortium are being conducted under the auspices of the Asian Development Bank.
The basic document for the promotion of TAPI project is the Ashgabat interstate agreement of the state parties on the commencement of the practical implementation of the TAPI project signed in late 2010.
Indian media reported that the ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) Company is also exploring opportunities to invest in the economy of Turkmenistan and is interested in developing the largest gas field in the country.
According to the report, during talks in Delhi the Turkmen side noted the preference given to service contracts, while India is interested in signing a production sharing agreement.