Turkmenistan is ready for long-term cooperation with the SCO in the energy sector to meet the needs of both the member states of the Organization and with the prospect of entering foreign markets.  This was stated by the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, speaking at the meeting of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which took place last Friday in Samarkand.

 “In the energy sector, Turkmenistan is also ready for systemic and long-term cooperation with the SCO. We propose to actively start planning joint projects to diversify energy supplies in order to meet the needs of both the SCO states and with the prospect of entering foreign markets,” Serdar Berdimuhamedov said, adding that Turkmenistan “has the necessary resources and capacities to significantly increase the volume of such supplies”.

 “For many years we have gained a solid international experience of cooperation in the energy sector.  Turkmenistan, using the generally accepted practice of conducting work in the oil and gas sector, supplies its natural gas to Russia, China and neighboring countries.  Today, we are actively working on the implementation of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project,” the Turkmen leader noted.

 In this regard, the President of Turkmenistan stressed the importance of Afghanistan's participation in these and other multilateral projects within the framework of the SCO.

 “Here I would like to emphasize the importance of Afghanistan's participation in these and other multilateral projects as one of the key factors in restoring its economy and social sphere, and ultimately achieving peace and harmony,” Serdar Berdimuhamedov said.

 At the same time, the President stressed that Turkmenistan considers it a priority to provide comprehensive economic and humanitarian support to the fraternal Afghan people.

 It is worth noting that Turkmenistan ranks fourth in the world in terms of natural gas reserves after Russia, Iran and Qatar. The British company Gafney, Cline & Associates estimates the giant Galkynysh field alone at 27.4 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.