Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Feb. 4
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
Turkmenistan and Indonesia considered the opportunities of cooperation in the spheres of energy, tourism and education during an official meeting in Ashgabat, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry said in a message.
The Indonesian delegation was represented by the country’s Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Turkmenistan (with a residence in Tehran) Octavino Alimudin.
Discussing the trade and economic cooperation, the sides noted the importance of organizing the meetings of the two countries’ businessmen. Meanwhile, the sides expressed interest in establishing inter-parliamentary and inter-party relations. Indonesia has a long-standing interest in the Turkmen market.
In the mid-1990s, Indonesia Petroleum Ltd. (INPEX) obtained shares in the gas pipeline consortium of the pipeline project from Turkmenistan to Pakistan. However, the project was suspended due to the unstable transit issues through Afghanistan’s territory.
In recent years, Ashgabat and Islamabad revived this project. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) financed its feasibility analysis and India joined the project as an interested buyer of the Turkmen gas that increased the chances of implementation of the transnational project. The construction of the Turkmen section of this gas pipeline started in December 2015.