BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 11. Afghanistan has
called on Turkmenistan to cooperate in establishing a gas
distribution and consumption network in Herat Province under the
TAPI project.


This was announced in a report published by the Office of the
Prime Minister of Afghanistan.


According to the report, Afghanistan's Deputy Prime Minister for
Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund also called for
establishing a joint technical and legal commission to resolve the
remaining issues related to the TAPI project.


In turn, National Leader of the Turkmen People Gurbanguly
Berdimuhamedov stated that Turkmenistan is ready to cooperate in
establishing a gas distribution network in Herat, the publication
said.


“The TAPI project has further strengthened the strategic
cooperation between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan,” the publication
quoted Baradar as saying.


He further called for joint efforts to create more employment
opportunities for Afghans within the project.







The sides also discussed future joint economic activities
between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.


Meanwhile, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI)
pipeline is a planned 1,800-kilometer natural gas pipeline designed
to transport up to 33 billion cubic meters of gas annually from
Turkmenistan’s giant Galkynysh field to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and
India. Ashgabat views the project as one of the main routes for
diversifying gas exports and strengthening regional economic
integration.


The gas resource base for TAPI is the Galkynysh field, one of
the world's largest gas deposits with estimated reserves exceeding
27 trillion cubic meters. In April 2026, Turkmengaz and China's
CNPC launched the fourth phase of the field's development. The
project involves the construction of new production facilities and
the drilling of wells, which will enable the additional production
of up to 10 billion cubic meters of commercial gas per year.


In early June, the Belfer Center for Science and International
Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School noted in its analysis that the
TAPI gas pipeline is being re-anchored in regional energy
discussions as a structured mechanism for regional energy flows,
connecting Turkmenistan’s gas resources with demand centers in
South Asia.