Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov held a briefing on Saturday, January, 16.The theme of the information event was dedicated to the significance of the recent infrastructural objects uniting power, transport and communication systems of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan put into operation.
It is a new power line in the direction of Kerki (Turkmenistan) Sheberghan (Afghanistan), a 30-kilometer railway section between stations “Aqina-Andkhoy” and the International fibre-optic communication system and transit flows along the route Ymamnazar (Turkmenistan) Aqina (Afghanistan) and Serhetabat (Turkmenistan) Torghundi (Afghanistan).
The Ashkhabad briefing was attended by heads and employees of diplomatic missions and representations of international organisations, experts-economists and political scientists, journalistic community, including the correspondents of foreign editions accredited in Turkmenistan. Turkmen ambassadors in other states and tens of reporters of foreign mass-media took part in the event through videoconferencing.
Rashid Meredov, describing these joint projects, noted that they are aimed at integration of Afghanistan into both regional continental economic and transport-logistical communications.The Minister underlined that the construction of infrastructure facilities in Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, in terms of its geo-economic and geopolitical significance, transcend its regional boundaries, and in fact means the formation of a new belt of transport and communications and the energy supplies of the continental level on the Turkmen and Afghan territories, connecting the Central Asia and South Asia with Europe and the Near East.
It shows a practical embodiment of the United Nations’ initiatives put forward by Turkmenistan in the field of transport and energy sustainable development, the head of the foreign policy department said.
This, in turn, is the practical embodiment of Turkmenistan’s international initiatives in the field of sustainable development in transport and energy sector, which the country proposes within UN.
As examples, the construction of the TAPI gas pipeline, the construction of cross-border railways, bridges, power lines and fibre-optic communications with the participation of neighbouring countries and other countries, work on the launching of the Lapis-Lazuli transport corridor along the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey route were presented.
The Minister noted importance of interaction in these issues with the international associations, including with the United Nations and its agencies, the European Union, CIS, SCO and others.
The Turkmen-Afghan infrastructure projects should be considered as part of more comprehensive plans on the establishment of geo-economic space uniting the states of the region, neighbouring countries, other states, and aimed at forming an integrated system of continental cooperation in Eurasia, Rashid Meredov told.
He confirmed the firm adherence of Turkmenistan to providing comprehensive political, diplomatic and economic support to Afghanistan which is the integral link of regional and continental stability and security.
The minister expressed assurance in the ability of the Afghan people and their leadership to overcome the existing difficulties and achieve peace and harmony in the country, attain its economic prosperity.
The Minister of Energy of Turkmenistan Charymyrat Purchekov, the Counselor of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Turkmenistan Ahmad Tariq Noorzadeh, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Central Asia, Head of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia Natalya Gherman, Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat Natalya Drozd, Director of the Resident Office of the Asian Development Bank in Turkmenistan Chang Ching Yu also gave speeches at the briefing.
The Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan answered the questions of the representatives of the news agencies, in particular the “News Central Asia” (Pakistan), “TRT” (Turkey) и “Agence France Press” (France), Turkmen journalists and other participants.