Gas pipeline between Turkmenistan, Pakistan

Leaders of Turkmenistan and Pakistan agreed to join efforts to speed up the construction of a gas pipeline to India, the Turkmen TV said. Presidents of the two states, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and Asif Ali Zardari signed a joint declaration at a meeting in Pakistan, saying the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline would be an important contribution "to energy security and economic well-being of states in the region." "The heads of states have reiterated their commitment to the TAPI pipeline construction and... expressed readiness to boost efforts to begin and implement the project as soon as possible," the declaration reads. The pipeline project participants signed a final agreement in December 2010. In October 2010, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said the country's gas giant Gazprom might participate in a consortium to build the pipeline. India suggested Gazprom join the project as one of the suppliers along with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The 1,700 kilometer pipeline with an annual flow capacity of 30 billion cubic meters and a rough cost of $4 billion, which was stalled by the war in Afghanistan, is supported by the Asian Bank for Development.