Turkmenistan, Qatar to expand oil and gas co-op

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has drawn attention to the prospects of developing the cooperation between Turkmenistan and Qatar in the oil and gas sector, the Turkmen government said in a message Oct. 3.

President Berdimuhamedov made remarks at a meeting of the Turkmen Cabinet of Ministers.

According to the message, the president stressed the importance of learning from the experience of the countries with rich hydrocarbon resources and ordered to send a governmental delegation to Doha.

Diplomatic relations between Turkmenistan and Qatar were established in 1996.

President Berdimuhamedov called Qatari businessmen for participating in the implementation of the construction project of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline in April 2016.

The president added that TAPI is designed to ensure long-term supply of natural gas to the largest countries of South-East Asia and contribute to resolving economic problems of the region, as well as important social and humanitarian issues.

The solemn ceremony of launching the TAPI construction with a capacity of up to 33 billion cubic meters of gas was held in mid-December 2015.