https://sputniknews.in/20231202/afghanistan-calls-for-tapi-gas-pipeline-funding-to-be-resumed-5680349.html
Afghanistan Calls for TAPI Gas Pipeline Funding to Be Resumed
Afghanistan Calls for TAPI Gas Pipeline Funding to Be Resumed
Sputnik India
The Taliban* has called for the “speedy resumption” of interbank financing to enable the implementation of the 1,600-kilometre-long TAPI (Turkmenistan–Afghanistan-Pakistan–India) gas pipeline project.
2023-12-02T19:47+0530
2023-12-02T19:47+0530
2023-12-02T19:47+0530
business & economy
afghanistan
turkmenistan
pakistan
taliban
asian development bank (adb)
india
liquefied natural gas (lng)
gas exports
gas pipeline
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The Taliban* movement has called for the “speedy resumption” of interbank financing to enable the implementation of a 1,600-kilometre-long TAPI (Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India) gas pipeline project, which was agreed upon by the four governments in 2010.Mohammad Harun Saidi, the trade attache of the Afghanistan Embassy in Turkmenistan, told Russian media in Ashgabat that the international interbank communication channels must be unfrozen to help fund the project’s construction.Interbank channels were frozen due to Western sanctions in the wake of the Taliban storming back to power in Kabul in August 2021.Saidi noted that Afghanistan’s share of participation in the project was to the tune of $150 million, and the total project cost was around $7 billion.The Asian Development Bank (ADB), which committed to fund the project in 2015, suspended its involvement in March 2022 until the Taliban achieved international recognition.In recent months, the Turkmenistan and Pakistan governments have also been demanding that sanctions against Afghanistan be lifted so that work can resume on the energy project.The two governments signed a joint implementation plan for the TAPI project in July this year.At the first-ever India-Central Asia Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi last March, the Turkmenistan president underlined the “importance” of the project.The TAPI pipeline will reportedly transport around 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas annually from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan (5 percent), Pakistan (47.5 percent) and India (47.5 percent) for a period of 30 years once it becomes fully-operational.*under UN sanctions
https://sputniknews.in/20231122/indias-lng-imports-from-russia-to-surge-amid-aim-to-set-up-gas-reserves-expert-5539307.html
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tapi project, tapi gas pipeline project, india lng imports, taliban sanctions, taliban frozen funds, energy security, india lng imports, pakistan gas imports, energy news
tapi project, tapi gas pipeline project, india lng imports, taliban sanctions, taliban frozen funds, energy security, india lng imports, pakistan gas imports, energy news
Afghanistan Calls for TAPI Gas Pipeline Funding to Be Resumed
Work on the pipeline project began in 2015 but has since stopped due to the security situation in Afghanistan and India-Pakistan tensions.
The Taliban* movement has called for the “speedy resumption” of interbank financing to enable the implementation of a 1,600-kilometre-long TAPI (Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India) gas pipeline project, which was agreed upon by the four governments in 2010.
Mohammad Harun Saidi, the trade attache of the Afghanistan Embassy in Turkmenistan, told Russian media in Ashgabat that the international interbank communication channels must be unfrozen to help fund the project’s construction.
“We want our money, frozen in banks, to quickly become available and [channels] of international institutions that should finance and help us to open [the pipeline],” the embassy delegate stated.
Interbank channels were frozen due to Western sanctions in the wake of the Taliban storming back to power in Kabul in August 2021.
Saidi noted that Afghanistan’s share of participation in the project was to the tune of $150 million, and the total project cost was around $7 billion.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), which committed to fund the project in 2015, suspended its involvement in March 2022 until the Taliban achieved international recognition.
In recent months, the
Turkmenistan and Pakistan governments have also been demanding that sanctions against Afghanistan be lifted so that work can resume on the energy project.
The two governments signed a joint implementation plan for the TAPI project in July this year.
At the first-ever India-Central Asia Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi last March, the Turkmenistan president underlined the “importance” of the project.
The TAPI pipeline will reportedly transport around 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas annually from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan (5 percent), Pakistan (47.5 percent) and India (47.5 percent) for a period of 30 years once it becomes fully-operational.
