Pakistan supports trans-Afghanistan gas pipeline: PM

Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani Wednesday supported Turkmenistan-Afghanistan- Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, saying that Islamabad would like this project to materialize without further delay in order to meet the country's growing shortages of energy.

The prime minister was talking to Rashid Meredov, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Turkmenistan, the prime minister' s office said.

The pipeline, which will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India, has been essentially stalled due to increasing instability in Afghanistan.

The cost of the pipeline is estimated cost at 7.6 billion U.S. dollars. The project is to be financed by the Asian Development Bank.

He said his government attached highest priority to the progress of the project and was coordinating with all the countries concerned for its early materialization.

Source:Xinhua