The Turkmenistan-Pakistan strategic partnership gathers momentum: as the great 'gas game' in Eurasia comes closer to a final realizationFebruary 12, 2018 18:42PM
Numerous matters of mutual interest were discussed between the representatives of the two countries. Islamabad and Ashgabad have subsequently agreed to expedite connectivity projects between the two countries, including roads and rail linkages in order to increase bilateral trade. During his meetings with PM Abbasi, Meredeov reportedly focused discussions on the TAPI gas pipeline project, as well as other strands of energy cooperation with Pakistan. The Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline has already revolutionized the basic concept of ‘energy diplomacy’ among the participating countries. Turkmenistan has been driving the project for some years, taking into account that it holds an 85% majority stake in the pipeline and gas exports provide a lifeline for the country’s revenue generation capacity. Meredov also reportedly offered PM Abbassi proposals for an electricity transmission line and fiber optic connectivity projects, as well as Pakistani participation in projects related to the petrochemical industry in Turkmenistan. Meredov was accompanied to Islamabad by Turkmenistan’s minister of energy, the state minister and chairman of TurkmenGas, the chairman and chief executive officer of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India Pipeline Company Limited, as well as top officials from state-held concerns. Meredov also held extensive discussions with Pakistan’s foreign minister, as the two men led their respective sides in the inaugural session of the Pakistan-Turkmenistan Bilateral Political Consultations platform. During these consultations the two ministers expressed satisfaction at the current level of bilateral relations between the two countries although they likewise highlighted that both sides need to make stronger efforts to further enhance economic relations, particularly through joint ventures in agriculture, textiles, livestock and the IT sector. Furthermore, both countries are also focused on measures aiming at enhanced connectivity including air and land linkages to promote trade, travel, tourism and people-to-people contacts. That said, despite the good will emanating from these high level meetings, there is still plenty of room for attaining a more optimum level of economic cooperation between Pakistan and Turkmenistan. There are no shortage of analysts who feel that both the countries should set the goal for increased engagement in trade, investment and other areas of meaningful cooperation. Foreign Minister Meredov’s official visit to Pakistan has not only ‘upped the ante’ in terms of expectations that Turkmenistan’s relations with its large neighbor – Pakistan – will improve further, it is also a reflection of Turkmenistan’s active diplomacy at the regional level. Stronger ties between Pakistan and Turkmenistan remain a central pillar to the latter’s regional policy and geopolitical reckoning. Turkmenistan’s president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, recently asserted that the strengthening of cooperation with neighboring countries in the Asian region, including Pakistan, is one of the key vectors of Ashgabat’s foreign policy. TAPI remains a big part of the ‘big picture’ from Ashgabat’s perspective. Turkmenistan started to construct its section of TAPI in December 2015 and the project seems to be moving forward at the time of the present writing (also taking into account the active energy diplomacy that Turkmenistan is pursuing at the regional level). Some of the world’s major IFIs, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), as well as the government of Japan, are all appearing to offer financial support for the pipeline. The Islamic Development Bank has already allocated a US$700 million loan for Turkmenistan to construct its section of TAPI. Further, Turkmenistan’s energy diplomacy in support of TAPI appear to be paying off dividends with respect to winning the endorsement for the project from (the government of) Afghanistan. The Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has recently confirmed that the pipeline is being built and will reach the town of Herat, on the Afghan border, in February 2018. A high level welding ceremony – with the participation of regional leaders – taking place on the border is foreseen for this month. The TAPI gas pipeline envisages a length of 1,735 kilometers and has the capacity of delivering 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan and India through the Herat, Farah, Helmand and Nimroz provinces of Afghanistan. Kabul is expected to earn in the region of US$500 million annually in revenue coming from duties imposed on gas transit, and is also expected to off take 1.5 bcm of gas per year over a 30 year lifespan. Gas coming from TAPI will power the Hajigak iron ore mine and the Mes Aynak copper project. TAPI envisages a length of around 735 km on the territory of Afghanistan (with some 200km going through Pakistan and 800km through Pakistan). TAPI remains a major energy infrastructure project which bears great importance in the regional calculations of the president of Turkmenistan – perhaps in a similar manner in which projects such as Nord Stream and Turkish Stream (gas pipelines) bear importance for Russian president Vladimir Putin. TAPI has all the potential to be a game breaking project in the Central and South Asian region. Altering the nature of the region’s energy security and placing Turkmenistan into a very prominent position in that respect, it will facilitate the creation of a major economic corridor in Central and South Asia for all countries concerned, since other projects such as power transmission systems, railway interconnections, and other industrial components will be built along the TAPI pipeline route. Thus Ashgabad’s energy diplomacy, remains very active at the regional level, as is underscored by Meredov’s recent visit to Islamabad, as well as the energy being put into the strengthening of Turkmenistan-Pakistan relations by the Turkmenistan Ambassador in Pakistan, Atadjan Movlamov. Ashgabat and Islamabad also cooperate in a number of international and regional inter-governmental platforms, including the UN, NAM, G-77, ECO and OIC. The relationship purports to become a win-win: Turkmenistan is endowed with substantial hydrocarbon resources, which can go along way towards satisfying Pakistan’s energy needs, which are growing enormously at present. There is also a bigger picture in it for both Turkmenistan and Pakistan: China, Chinese gas and infrastructure under the One Belt One Road mega-initiative and the China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor (CPEC). TAPI is not just a gas pipeline initiative connecting energy-rich Central Asia with energy-deficient South Asia, but a mega-project of strategic importance that can open the doors for greater regional economic collaboration and integration. Moreover, the TAPI gas pipeline carries great potential in generating wider-economic activity, creating new jobs and ultimately improving living standards as well. It may also result in the regional states better coordinating their security and counter-terrorism policies, acting as a further catalyst for bilateral trade, regional connectivity across all of Eurasia and ultimately in connecting with China.
|
By Mehmood-Ul-Hassan Khan, EGF Associated Expert on South Asian geopolitics,
0 Pros
0 Cons
Comments 0