Monitoring Desk: Turkmenistan has become the first Central Asian state to contact the Afghan interim government and expressed its support for development projects. Both countries also discussed the TAPI Gas line project.
According to Dr. Naeem the spokesman of the Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, on Monday, a meeting was held between the Deputy Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Maulvi Abdul Salam Hanafi, and the Vice President of neighboring Turkmenistan and Foreign Minister Rashid Meridov via video conference.
First of all, the Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan congratulated the Deputy Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on the new Government of Afghanistan. “The Afghan and Turkmen peoples are brothers and friends. We want to maintain this brotherhood and friendship in the future as well,” he said. “We want to work with the new Afghan government and encourage other neighbors to work with the new Afghan government,” he said.
1/6- نن د افغانستان اسلامي امارت د رياست الوزراء مرستيال محترم مولوي عبد السلام حنفي او د ګاونډي هېواد ترکمنستان د ولسمشر مرستيال او د بهرنيو چارو وزير ښاغلي رشيد ميريدوف تر منځ د ويډيو کنفرانس له لارې ملاقات وشو.
— Dr.M.Naeem (@IeaOffice) September 13, 2021
We continue and expand our economic projects in Afghanistan. Such as power projects, completion of railway projects in Andkhoy. On TAPI and electric projects, he said that Afghan and Turkmen officials would soon meet to discuss their implementation inside Afghanistan. “There is a need to start a railway project between Torghundai and Herat and we are ready to do that,” he said.
The Minister promised that Afghan traders who have been fined for closing the border in Turkmenistan will be forgiven. Turkmenistan pledges to continue and expand humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan Maulvi Abdul Salam Hanafi, Deputy Minister of State for Afghanistan, thanked neighboring Turkmenistan and reaffirmed Afghanistan’s commitment to good bilateral relations and related issues.