Turkmenistan: Indian And Turkmenistan Governments Agree To Hold A Regular Political Dialogue

Record ID: 4074

  • Title: Turkmenistan: Indian And Turkmenistan Governments Agree To Hold A Regular Political Dialogue
  • Date: 21st May 1999
  • Summary: India and Turkmenistan will hold talks once in every six months, officials said on May 21, 1999. This was decided at a meeting between the visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov on May 20, 1999. Indian officials described Singh-Niyazov meeting as "very positive, very warm, constructive and forward looking. " The two sides also decided on long-term energy co-operation and a Joint Working Group (JWG) of experts is to be established to discuss ways of exploiting the energy sector. "We are indeed breaking very new ground. We are formalising the process of political consultation at the levels of the ministers of external affairs and we are setting in motion the foundation of long term, lasting and mutually beneficial co-operation in the field of energy," Jaswant Singh told reporters. Pakistan has also agreed to participate in an Indo-Turkmen JWG to explore ways of carrying Turkmen gas to India. Turkmenistan Foreign Minister Boris Shikhmuradov said Pakistan wanted to join the JWG as an equal partner because the group allows the participation of third countries in it. Turkmenistan holds one of the largest reserves of natural gas in the world. Two-thirds of Central Asia's eight trillion cubic meters of proven reserves are located in Turkmenistan. India's demand for natural gas is increasing and it is estimated that it will need about 2. 3 trillion cubic feet of gas by 2005.
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  • Location: TURKMENISTAN ASHGABAT
  • Reuters ID: LDL0012B396N3
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
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  • Copyright Holder: Reuters Archive
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