Pakistan, India Report Progress On Turkmen Gas Pipeline

Indian Oil Minister S. Jaipal Reddy

India and Pakistan say they are moving closer to an agreement on a pipeline to import Turkmen gas through Afghanistan.

Indian Oil Minister S. Jaipal Reddy, speaking after meeting in New Delhi with his Pakistani counterpart, said there had been “considerable progress in our talks."

Pakistani Oil minister Asim Hussain said “a joint strategy" is being evolved between India and Pakistan, and that issue of transit fees is being discussed with Afghanistan.

The January 25 talks came as Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited Turkmenistan, meeting with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov to discuss the proposed 1,735-kilometer Turkmen-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline.

The pipeline to bring some 33 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas annually to Fazilka, India, promises to bring Afghanistan tens of million of dollars in transit fees yearly and benefits to regions of Afghanistan along the pipeline route.

compiled from agency reports