A range of international oil companies interested in TAPI gas pipeline project-U.S official
By Aynur Jafarova
There are a range of international oil companies who have expressed an interest in having a role in helping to develop the consortium that will help build the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake said at press-conference in Ashgabat.
"So I think those companies are now having discussions with the Government of Turkmenistan, and when those discussions are complete and decisions have been made, I'm sure the Government of Turkmenistan will communicate that," Blake noted.
Blake also said that trade relations between Turkmenistan and the U.S have greatly increased and the two countries had a very successful Business Forum in Ashgabat at the end of April.
With respect to Turkmenistan, there has been a widening scope of cooperation between Turkmenistan and the U.S in terms of business-to-business contacts and the trade has expanded quite substantially. The U.S has a similar record in countries like Kazakhstan, he said.
Blake also noted that each of the Central Asian countries in their own way, but particularly Turkmenistan, have taken important steps to build up regional infrastructure and to enhance their cooperation with Afghanistan.
"We think these steps collectively are having a positive impact in creating a more secure and stable and prosperous region. And to be sure there needs to be many more steps to lay the basis for real regional integration," the U.S. diplomat said.
According to him, there are multilateral development banks like the Asian Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the Aga Khan Development Network, and many other institutions expending significant resources of their own.
Many of the countries of the region take important steps to accede to the World Trade Organization. This will have a very important impact in creating a real opportunity for greater trade and investment in the region, Blake said.
Touching on the issue about the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, Blake said that the U.S will have troops in Afghanistan until the end of 2014.
"But what I did say is that we passed an important milestone in that Afghanistan now has the lead for security operations all over Afghanistan and NATO forces, including American forces, are now in a support role in that regard," Blake said.
According to him, the U.S and others are working very hard to train the Afghan National Security Forces.
"And we will continue to have a presence, even after 2014, to help with counterterrorism and to continue the training process," Blake said.
He said that President Obama has not yet announced the exact level of troops to remain in Afghanistan after 2014.
"But he has said that we will remain committed to helping Afghanistan after 2014, because we do not want to squander the gains that have been made," Blake said.
The TAPI pipeline project with design capacity of 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year will extend from Galkhynysh -- the largest gas field in Turkmenistan -- through the Afghan cities of Herat and Kandahar to the final point, a settlement on the Pakistani-Indian border.
The basic document for the promotion of the TAPI project is the Ashgabat intergovernmental agreement on the start of actual implementation of the TAPI project signed in late 2010 by the four participating countries.
According to experts, TAPI is not only a regional project envisaging the transportation of Turkmen gas, but also a global project. The leading role in this project belongs not to the countries through whose territories the pipeline will run, but to the countries with influential and strategic position in world politics, analysts say.
TAPI is currently at an important stage of development. Talks are underway on the establishment of the project consortium, financing and security, in particular, the security of the pipeline section crossing the troubled Afghanistan.
According to experts, the implementation of the TAPI project will strengthen the independence of Turkmenistan and its gas supplies to world markets will increase significantly.
Furthermore, observers say that the main benefit of the project is an opportunity to contribute to the stabilization of Afghanistan, and its implementation could contribute to the rehabilitation process in the post-war country as it will create jobs and provide Afghanistan with guaranteed income from transit.