During his visit to Turkmenistan, which shares border with Afghanistan, President Ram Nath Kovind reiterated India’s call for a truly representative and inclusive government in Afghanistan. With efforts on to revive the stalled Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, Kovind also said he had suggested that issues related to security of the pipeline and key business principles may be addressed in technical and expert level meetings.
“Cooperation in energy was one of the key areas of our discussions,” said Kovind. India remains concerned about pipeline security and also some commercial aspects of it. Asked if the issue of the TAPI pipeline could come up during talks, Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West) in the MEA, said that “it is a difficult neighbourhood if you look at the geography. So, in that sense, this itself was a task in negotiating the pipeline”.
Kovind said as immediate neighbours of Afghanistan, India and Turkmenistan are naturally concerned about the developments within that country and their external repercussions.
