Turkmenistan's Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmed Gurbanov has met with EU Special Representatives for Central Asia and Afghanistan Teri Hakala and Thomas Niklasson in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
According to the Turkmen Foreign Ministry, the Turkmen delegation also took part in the regular meeting of the Special Representatives of the Central Asian states and the European Union on Afghanistan. "There was an exchange of expert views on the current state of development in the socio-economic and humanitarian areas, including the ongoing work in the field of security in Afghanistan."
The event was also attended by Roza Otunbayeva, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan, on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe, borders three of the five Central Asian countries - Tajikistan (1,300km), Turkmenistan (800km) and Uzbekistan (144km).
All of these countries are linked to Afghanistan by a number of their major regional projects, including the construction of a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to India. Experts told Daryo that the pipeline could help rebuild Afghanistan, improve its socio-economic structure and create new jobs.
Ashgabat has been sending humanitarian supplies and medical aid to the country's northern provinces, which are mostly populated by ethnic Uzbeks and Turkmen.
Eziz Boyarov
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