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The long-delayed four-nation TAPI gas pipeline project is seen as an essential element of economic cooperation between Turkmenistan and India

The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline is a purely economic project, the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to India said. Sputnik, a Russian news outlet, quoted the diplomat as saying: "Our idea is to make India even closer to us connected through the pipeline which is a vital ingredient of the economic cooperation." Conceived in the 1990s, the project has been delayed repeatedly due to conflicts and political instability in the region. In 2015, the ground-breaking ceremony for it was finally held in Turkmenistan. The 1,800 kilometers pipeline, accounting for billions of dollars, will carry natural gas deposits in Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan into India.