A joint meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan was held in Herat on Saturday. In addition to Hanif Atmar and Rashid Mardov, the foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan; Ajmal Ahmadi, acting head of the Central Bank; Harun Chaghansuri, the minister of mines and petroleum; Davood Noorzai, the head of the Afghan Electricity Company and a number of other Afghan and Turkmenistan government officials attended the meeting.
At the beginning of the meeting, Atmar said that Mardov’s visit to Afghanistan is scheduled for two days and important bilateral issues, including peace and security in Afghanistan, will be discussed during separate meetings.
According to him, Turkmenistan’s electricity exports to Herat; Herat marble exports to Turkmenistan; the TAPI project; the joint railway line between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan; the Lapis Lazuli transit route and trade and transit between the two countries are the main topics of talks between senior Afghan government officials and Turkmenistan.
On the other hand, Turkmenistan Foreign Minister Rashid Murdov said that the purpose of his visit to Herat was to strengthen friendly and fraternal relations with Afghanistan and that seven important issues would be discussed during the joint meetings.
Over the past few years, the work of the TAPI project, the Turkmenistan gas pipeline through Afghanistan to India and Pakistan, has been slow and has been widely criticized. According to the president’s promise, Tapi gas should have reached Herat last year, but the practical process of this project in Afghanistan has not started yet.
In addition, the cessation of the transfer of commercial goods after the import and export of a few limited shipments via the Lapis Lazuli route has also drawn criticism. The Lapis Lazuli transit route connects Afghanistan to Turkey and Europe via Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia / Georgia.
Following the Turkmen Foreign Minister’s visit to Herat, joint meetings with businessmen, craftsmen, exporters and Afghan government officials are scheduled for Sunday, June 6.