The state and prospects of cooperation with the Asian Development Bank were discussed on Thursday at a meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov and the new Director of the ADB Resident Mission in Turkmenistan Artur Andrisyak, the website of the Turkmen Foreign Ministry reports.

 Energy, industry, transport, trade, banking and a number of other areas were named as areas for the joint application of forces.

 Particular emphasis was placed on the implementation of the project for the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline in the context of the development of regional and international energy cooperation.

 It is worth noting that in 2000 Turkmenistan became a member of the ADB, which takes an active part in financing investment programs and projects in the country.  Given Turkmenistan's vast energy resources and strategic location, ADB operations are focused on improving our country's transport and energy sectors and promoting large-scale infrastructure projects that help expand regional connectivity and trade.

 The ADB lending program to Turkmenistan for 2018-2019 amounted to $950 million in areas such as energy, transport, and private sector development.

 Previously, ADB has already acted as a transactional adviser and secretariat of TAPI, as well as a transaction advisor. The Bank promised to continue to support this project in the future, including through the provision of financial advice, equity financing in the TAPI consortium, as well as non-sovereign loans and credit enhancement.