Afghan president to visit Azerbaijan to discuss economic cooperation

It is expected that Ghani will hold meetings with Azerbaijan officials and will discuss economic cooperation and relations between the two countries.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, National Security Advisor, Minister of Trade and Industry, Minister of Labour and Social Security and other senior Afghan officials will accompany the president to Azerbaijan, said the Embassy.

The embassy did not provide further details.

This comes a week after Ghani visited Turkmenistan and inaugurated the $10 billion Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) gas pipeline project – a move that is aimed at promoting trade and economic ties in the region.

Ghani along with Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian Vice President Muhammad Hamid Ansari attended the ground breaking ceremony in Mary in the southeastern part of the central Asian country, close to the giant Galkynysh gas field which will provide gas for the 1,814-kilometre link.

Some 200 kilometers will pass through the territory of Turkmenistan, 735 kilometers through Afghanistan, 800 kilometers through Pakistan up to Fazilka settlement on the border with India.

The trans-regional energy project, which will carry gas from Turkmenistan, through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India is being hailed as a major initiative for bringing peace and enhancing connectivity in the region. Reports indicate however that the project could be completed in 2018.