Afghanistan and Turkmenistan signed a gas-purchase memorandum for the TAPI pipeline in Herat on Monday, as the two sides pushed for agreement on pricing and faster progress on the regional energy project.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in Torghundi between state-owned Afghan Gas Company and Turkmenistan’s Türkmengaz, according to Afghanistan’s Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs.
The office said the document sets out the main terms for future gas supplies.
“Under this MoU, the gas price, the determination of gas demand levels, and the gas distribution process will be specified.”
Abdul Ghani Baradar, Afghanistan’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs, also called for a long-term pricing arrangement designed to limit the impact of sharp fluctuations in European gas markets.
He asked Turkmenistan to support the development of a gas distribution network in Herat and create more jobs for Afghans through the project.
Turkmenistan’s national leader, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, said Ashgabat was ready to help establish the Herat gas network and advance the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan electricity project, according to the Afghan statement.
The office said Berdimuhamedow also backed efforts to revive the Lapis Lazuli trade corridor.
“He also emphasised joint efforts to activate the Lapis Lazuli Corridor in order to increase trade between the two countries and the wider region.”
Both sides agreed to establish a senior-level technical committee to oversee the TAPI, electricity, fibre-optic and railway projects.
The Asian Development Bank says the planned 1,814-kilometre TAPI pipeline is designed to carry up to 33 billion cubic metres of Turkmen gas annually through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India. Construction of the Serhetabat-Herat section in Afghanistan was formally launched in September 2024.
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