LOC13:33
10:33 GMT
ISLAMABAD, Feb 23 (KUNA) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Abbasi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani launched a 1,130-mile-long gas pipeline on Friday that will feed Turkmenistan gas to Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan and India.
The first part of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India Pipeline (TAPI) inauguration took place in Turkmenistan followed by a ceremony in Afghanistan's western Herat province.
Abbasi and Ghani attended the ceremonies along with a representative of the Indian government. On the occasion, Abbasi expressed confidence that TAPI would provide shared prosperity, unite people, and provide socio-economic development and peace dividends in the region.
He said TAPI is critical for Pakistan's energy needs, adding that it will provide 10 percent of the country's total energy consumption. The Prime Minister described TAPI as a "historic" occasion, which recreates historical linkages that the region had.
He said Pakistan has been able to overcome its challenges and it is on the path of economic progress. It will achieve a six-percent growth this year and CPEC would provide most efficient connectivity to the region.
Afghan President told the gathering that the pipeline is a message to future generations. "We hope our next generation will see this pipeline as the foundation of a joint position in our region, which is aimed at improving our economy, providing jobs and increasing our security, all in our fight against extremists," he said.
"Afghanistan believes in the connectivity policy, not separation. The South Asia is being connected with the Central Asia through Afghanistan after more than a century of separation," Ghani noted, adding that TAPI is not only a project, but also an economic corridor.
Turkmenistan has completed construction of its section under the TAPI.
The pipeline will have the capacity of transferring 33 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan and India through Herat, Farah, Helmand and Nimroz provinces of Afghanistan. (end)
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