ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan and Turkmenistan are expected to sign a number of agreements and memorandum of understandings (MoUs) for bolstering cooperation in diverse fields as President Gurbanguly Malikgulyyewic Berdimuhamedov will arrive in Islamabad on Wednesday on a two-day official visit to Pakistan.
His visit follows the ground breaking of $10 billion Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI), a gas pipeline project which would to a large extent help in mitigating energy deficit in Pakistan.
The Turkmenistan president will hold talks with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on bilateral relations and cooperation in diverse fields besides regional and international matters of mutual interests.
It is expected that the two sides will review progress on TAPI gas pipeline project. Moreover, the two sides are also expected to sign a number of agreements for bolstering cooperation between Pakistan and Turkmenistan in diverse fields.
The ground breaking of the 1,814 kilometer long pipeline was performed when Nawaz Sharif visited Ashgabat in December last year on a two-day visit to Turkmenistan. The Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari also attended the ceremony.
“TAPI is not just a gas transit initiative connecting energy-rich Central Asia with energy-starved South Asia, but a trailblazing project that will open doors for greater regional economic collaboration and integration,” Sharif said in his remarks in the ground breaking ceremony on December 13.