Herat Province of Afghanistan to host the first international conference on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline next month. The announcement was made at a meeting attended by the deputy foreign minister of Turkmenistan, the Governor of Herat Province, officials from the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum of Afghanistan and tribal leaders from Herat and Farah provinces. The Governor of Herat underlined that TAPI project is vital for Afghanistan’s economic development, it is an important 'keystone' in the realization of the New Silk Road in the arena of energy where Afghanistan will again play a central role in connecting energy-rich Central Asia countries to energy-deficient South Asia countries. The project aims to export up to 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year through a 1,800-kilomter pipeline from the Dauletabad gas field in Turkmenistan along the highway through Herat, Helmand and Kandahar provinces of Afghanistan, to Quetta and Multan in Pakistan, and on to Fazilka in India. The pipeline could become a recipe for long-term stability in Afghanistan by generating revenue for the Afghan government and creating over 60 thousand jobs for Afghan people.
