US says pleased with TAPI agreement

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Dec 18 (PTI) The US has said it is pleased
with a recent agreement on an ambitious four-nation gas
pipeline involving India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and
Turkmenistan, hoping that the multi-billion-dollar project
would change the face of the economic condition of the region.
"We are pleased with the initial agreements that have
been signed on the TAPI (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan
and India) project," the State Department said.
"It is important to remember that pipelines are long-term
projects with long-term horizons, and that the immense effort
involved could produce long-term benefits for Turkmenistan and
the region," it said.
TAPI's route may serve as a stabilising corridor, linking
neighbours together in economic growth and prosperity, it
said.
"The road ahead is long for this project, but the
benefits could be tremendous," the State Department said in
response to a question.
India, on December 11, signed agreements to import
natural gas from Turkmenistan through an ADB-based USD 7.6
billion gas pipeline passing through Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Indain Oil Minister Murli Deora inked the
Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) and the Gas Pipeline
Framework Agreement for the
Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline in
Ashgabat in Turkmenistan.
"Today is a very important day, not just for India, but
for all the countries (in the TAPI project)," he had said at
the signing ceremony attended by Pakistan President Asif Ali
Zardari, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Turkmenistan
President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
The agreements are commitments of the four nations to
building the project even as New Delhi voiced concerns over
safe delivery of gas through the pipeline that would pass
through Taliban's stronghold of Kandahar in Afghanistan and
then into Pakistan's restive tribal areas.
"There are issues that need to be addressed. We have to
come to a decision regarding the price of gas, security of the
pipeline, certainty of the gas supply, transit fee and setting
up of the consortium (to build the pipeline)," Deora had said.
(MORE) PTI LKJ
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