Afghan and Turkmen Officials Meet to Accelerate TAPI Gas Pipeline Land Acquisition

Officials from Afghanistan and Turkmenistan held a meeting to discuss speeding up land acquisition and pricing for the TAPI gas pipeline project, which will transport gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India.

Murad Amanov, head of the TAPI project, emphasized the need to accelerate these stages based on the framework agreement among the four countries. The meeting included Ataullah Amiri, Afghanistan's Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, and Khwaja Avazov, Turkmenistan's ambassador to Kabul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock.

Separately, the Azerbaijan Shipping Company has begun transporting pipes for the project from Baku port to Turkmenbashi port, with about 11,700 pipes planned by year-end.

Afghanistan's Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation announced the transfer of eight commercial consignments via Torghundi port and the Lajvard route -- through Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey -- on Sunday, 24 Hoot. The consignments, including dried fruits, jam, pressure cookers and energy drinks, will proceed from Turkey to markets in Saudi Arabia, the United States, Australia and the Netherlands.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank, inaugurated the largest carpet weaving center in Herat province. The center, opened in the presence of Indrika Ratwatte, UN Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, and local elders, initially provides jobs and skills training for 400 Afghan returnees, more than three-quarters of them women. UNHCR noted that over 2 million Afghans returned from Iran last year, and the project aims to create economic opportunities and empower returnees and host communities.

Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev ratified a preferential trade agreement with Afghanistan, signed on June 10, 2025, during the Tashkent International Investment Forum by Afghanistan's Minister of Industry and Commerce and Uzbekistan's counterpart.