The Board of Directors of TAPI Pipeline Company Limited convened in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, to assess the ongoing development of the pipeline.
According to reports, the board members reiterated TAPI’s strategic importance for both regional and global energy security.
They emphasized the need to maintain momentum in the project’s implementation and underscored that all necessary measures should be taken to ensure the pipeline’s successful completion.
As the Taliban continues to assert that the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project will commence soon, a former Afghan diplomat has criticized the initiative as mere “propaganda” by Turkmenistan and the Taliban.
Mohammadullah Afzali, Afghanistan’s former ambassador to Turkmenistan, expressed skepticism about the project’s progress in an interview with Amu TV. “There has been no real progress on the [TAPI] pipeline project,” Afzali said. “No serious green light has been given by Pakistan, and India remains completely indifferent to the TAPI project. For Turkmenistan, this is not a serious discussion but rather a piece of propaganda and a way to maintain communication with Afghanistan.”
In a related development, the Taliban’s minister of mines and petroleum, Hidayatullah Badri, departed Kabul for Turkmenistan last week. Badri, who is under United Nations sanctions that restrict his international travel, is expected to engage in discussions on bilateral relations, mining, railways, and the practical start of the TAPI project on Afghan territory.
The TAPI project, originally launched in 2016 by the leaders of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, promises significant economic benefits for Afghanistan, including over $400 million in gas transit revenue and a substantial supply of natural gas. However, the project has faced numerous delays, and doubts about its viability persist.
