Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, May 22
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
The Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan hosted a meeting with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajčák, Trend reports with reference to the Turkmen Foreign Ministry on May 22.
The parties discussed issues of security and stability in the region. Miroslav Lajčák noted significant efforts of Turkmenistan in the process of resolving the situation in Afghanistan and establishing civil peace in this country, which is very important for the entire world community, the report says.
“It was noted that, in accordance with the realities of the modern world, it is necessary to solve issues exclusively through peaceful dialogue, mainly within the authoritative international organizations,” the report reads.
The meeting participants noted initiatives and projects of Turkmenistan in the areas of development of transport, energy security, conservation of water resources and environmental protection.
Turkmenistan has a long border with Afghanistan and has repeatedly offered to hold talks in Ashgabat under the auspices of the UN to restore peace in the neighboring state.
Ashgabat is in favor of providing more ambitious and targeted international economic assistance to Afghanistan, primarily through the involvement of Afghanistan in the implementation of large infrastructure projects in the energy and transport sectors.
They include the projects of laying power transmission lines and fiber-optic communications along the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) route, and the construction of railway lines from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan.
A large-scale project to lay gas pipeline to India and Pakistan for the supply of Turkmen gas is also connected to the territory of Afghanistan, where unstable situation has remained for a long time.
Observers believe that the implementation of this project may contribute to the restoration of Afghanistan, as it will allow creating jobs and provide the country with guaranteed income from transit.