BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 11. Chairman of Turkmenistan's Halk Maslahaty (Parliament) Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Afghanistan's Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund discussed the latest progress of the TAPI project.
This was reported in a publication by the Office of the Prime Minister of Afghanistan.
The meeting was held in Torghundi, Herat Province of Afghanistan, where Baradar welcomed Berdimuhamedov and expressed satisfaction with the progress of the TAPI project in Herat, the report says.
“The sides discussed the latest progress of the TAPI project and future joint economic activities between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan,” the publication said.
According to the press release, he stated that work on the project is progressing well in Herat and expressed hope that the remaining activities would be completed within the scheduled timeframe.
In turn, Berdimuhamedov stated that Turkmenistan is ready to extend the TAPI pipeline to Herat Province, the publication said. The sides also discussed future joint economic activities between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline is a planned 1,800-kilometer natural gas pipeline designed to transport up to 33 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Turkmenistan’s giant Galkynysh field to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. Ashgabat views the project as one of the main routes for diversifying gas exports and strengthening regional economic integration.
The gas resource base for TAPI is the Galkynysh field, one of the world's largest gas deposits with estimated reserves exceeding 27 trillion cubic meters. In April 2026, Turkmengaz and China's CNPC launched the fourth phase of the field's development. The project involves the construction of new production facilities and the drilling of wells, which will enable the additional production of up to 10 billion cubic meters of commercial gas per year.
In early June, the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School noted in its analysis that the TAPI gas pipeline is being re-anchored in regional energy discussions as a structured mechanism for regional energy flows, connecting Turkmenistan’s gas resources with demand centers in South Asia.
