THE MEETING WITH THE DELEGATION OF POLITICAL OFFICE OF TALIBAN MOVEMENT WAS HELD IN THE MFA OF TURKMENISTAN

February 6, 2021, the leadership of the Turkmen foreign ministry met with the delegation of the Political Office of the Taliban movement headed by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in the MFA of Turkmenistan.

During constructive negotiations, the parties have underlined the importance of establishing and maintaining peace and stability in Afghanistan.

In this regard, it has been noted that Turkmenistan has given significant support to the Afghan people, contributed to the development of Afghan economy, primarily strategically important fields such as energy, transport, connectivity and communications.

The significant projects in the aforementioned fields are the “Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India” pipeline, high voltage electric power transmission line, fiber-optic connection along the “Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan” route, as well as railways connecting Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.

The delegation of the Political Office of the Taliban movement expressed full support to the implementation of the above-mentioned infrastructure projects aimed at ensuring well-being and prosperity for the Afghan people.

The representatives of the Afghan delegation made a statement to the press and answered questions from journalists after the negotiations.

Further, the full text of the press statement by the delegation of the Political Office of the Taliban movement is published.

 

«Dear Mass Media Representatives!

First of all, let me welcome you today at the press conference and introduce myself. My name is Mohammad Suhail Shaheen, I am a member of the Political Office and Negotiations Team of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

On behalf of the IEA Political Office, I would like to express my gratitude to the Turkmen side for the invitation to visit Turkmenistan and for warm hospitality.

Yesterday, as part of our visit, we visited two mosques and acquainted with the ancient religious sites and cultural traditions of the Turkmen people.

Today, here, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, we held talks in an open and friendly atmosphere with His Excellency Rashid Meredov, Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan and Deputy Prime Minister and his delegation, during which we gave a positive assessment of the policy of neutral Turkmenistan towards Afghanistan and the long-term political and economic support to Afghanistan that neighboring Turkmenistan is providing, provided and will provide.

Turkmenistan, as a Muslim, neighboring, neutral state, has been taking initiatives for a number of years aimed at establishing peace and development in Afghanistan.

The implementation of infrastructure projects in Afghanistan initiated by Turkmenistan deserves special attention and assessment. There is no doubt that the early start of construction of projects such as TAPI, TAP, and railways from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan will contribute to the achievement of prosperity and economic development in Afghanistan. On the one hand, while we are struggling to gain independence of our country, meanwhile, we are trying to contribute to the prosperity of our people and the development of our country by providing protection to all national projects in the country.

In this regard, as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, we declare our full support for the implementation and security of TAPI and other developmental projects in our country.

I thank you for your attention!”