ASHGABAT: Former Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said that his country’s “primary goal” was to diversify exports of its enormous gas reserves, the world’s fourth largest, according to the transcript of an interview published on Sunday.
A mostly desert country of around 7 million, Turkmenistan’s gas exports have been limited by a lack of pipeline infrastructure. Most of the gas it sells overseas goes to China.
Berdymukhamedov served as president from 2007 to 2022, when he stepped down in favor of his son, Serdar. He remains influential as Turkmenistan’s “National Leader.”
In an interview with Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya published by Turkmen state media, Berdymukhamedov said that international companies were welcome to participate in the TAPI pipeline project, which would carry the country’s gas to energy-hungry markets in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.
Turkmenistan says it will finish the first leg of the pipeline, to the Afghan city of Herat, around the end of 2026. No plans have been announced to extend the pipeline further south.
