Taliban Officials Invite Russia to Join TAPI Pipeline Energy Project

• Financial

Taliban officials have said they would like Russia to join the TAPI pipeline project, which would include Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. “If requested by the project’s partners, including Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, Russia will join the project.

The president of Russia has shown his readiness to cooperate in this project a few years ago, and we are interested in cooperation in the Asian economic sector. The key question about this project is security in the territory of Afghanistan, and this project can raise the economic status of Afghanistan,” Kabulov said.

Afghanistan will guarantee the safety of this project

The spokesman for the Taliban government, Zabihullah Mujahid, said that Afghanistan will guarantee the safety of this project for all those who want to participate in it.

“Afghanistan is a country that needs to grow and stand on its own, and we are in dire need of countries’ support, and we can provide them with all the facilities,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate.

Also, the spokesman of the Ministry of Economy, Abdurrahman Habib, emphasized that TAPI is of historical importance for Afghanistan, but also for the entire region. “TAPI is one of the most significant economic projects for our country, and its implementation will not only improve political dialogue and regional cooperation but also supply the necessary gas energy, enable the mining of the nation's gas reserves, and will create jobs,” said Abdurrahman Habib, a spokesperson for the ministry of economy.

The Russian special envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, also spoke about the whole project. “I think the inclusion of new countries in this project is too late and requires global agreement and understanding, notably the Asian Development Bank, in addition to the member nations, to come to an understanding about this,” said Azerakhsh Hafezi, an economic affairs analyst.

Otherwise, the main part of the TAPI pipeline should pass through Afghanistan and Pakistan before reaching India. According to the Afghan media, this country should collect about 400 million dollars annually from the project.