ASHGABAT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd February, 2022) Ashgabat and Beijing are working to increase deliveries of Turkmen natural gas to China and are preparing to negotiate on the construction of another pipeline route, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said on Wednesday.
In an interview with a number of Chinese media, including CCTV, CGTN Russian, and the Xinhua news agency, Berdymukhamedov said that one of the priorities of bilateral cooperation is the fuel and energy sector, as proven by the construction and commissioning of the Turkmenistan-China strategic gas pipeline in 2009.
"Today we are working on increasing the volume of supplies of Turkmen natural gas, taking into account the growing needs of the economy of the People's Republic of China and the possibilities of the resource base of Turkmenistan. In this regard, we are ready for a substantive discussion of the possibilities of building the fourth pipeline route from Turkmenistan to China," Berdymukhamedov said.
Turkmenistan is the largest exporter of pipeline gas to China, supplying fuel via three pipelines passing along the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China route. The fourth line is expected to be laid on the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan-China route. The construction will allow Turkmenistan to increase its gas deliveries to China by up to 65 billion cubic meters per year.
Berdymukhamedov confirmed that he will take part in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in China, which he described as a globally important event in terms of "mutual understanding, openness, and sympathy between peoples and states."
"As the President of Turkmenistan, a country committed to these principles in its domestic and foreign policy, I gratefully accepted the invitation of respectable Chairman of the People's Republic of China," the president said.
The 2022 Olympic Games will be held in Beijing from February 4 to February 20.
