Foreign Minister Turkmenistan & Chairman Afghan Central Bank Discuss Bilateral Cooperation

Ashgabat/Turkmenistan; On August 12, 2020, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan R. Meredov held talks with the Acting Chairman of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Ajmal Ahmadi. The meeting was held by means of video conferencing.

On the agenda of the talks was the expansion and strengthening of mutually beneficial relations in all areas of cooperation of reciprocal interest. Having especially noted the effectiveness and timeliness of the previous meetings of the delegations of the two countries at various venues, the parties confirmed their mutual readiness to continue to actively develop an effective partnership between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.

In particular, the interlocutors focused on the need to intensify the implementation of multilateral and bilateral projects aimed at the comprehensive integration of neighboring Afghanistan into the architecture of world stability.

In this context, the parties also exchanged views on the construction of the TAPI gas pipeline and the TAP power transmission line, as well as the implementation of the Lapis Lazuli corridor, etc. As is known, these regional projects open up wide opportunities for exporting electricity to South Asian countries in transit through Afghanistan, expanding transport and transit hubs connected by a single logistics center.

The participants of the meeting stated that the successful implementation of these projects will give a powerful impetus to the sustainable economic development of the entire region, will contribute to solving social and humanitarian issues, strengthening peace and security. In particular, it will be possible to increase the level of employment of the population in connection with the emergence of new jobs, as well as to create an appropriate infrastructure for energy, transport-communication and transit-logistics areas.