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| Image: Flickr User - DVIDSHUB |
By Catherine Putz
If history is any indication, no.
As expected, on December 13, leaders from Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India attended the groundbreaking for the TAPI pipeline project in Mary, Turkmenistan. The 1,814 kilometer pipeline project is expected to cost at least $10 billion and planned to route through some of the most unstable parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The groundbreaking on Sunday was attended by Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari.
Last week, ahead of the TAPI groundbreaking, I wrote that it is neither the diversification Turkmenistan needs nor is the security of the project something to be dismissed casually.
The groundbreaking was nonetheless rife with hopeful statements.
“TAPI is designed to become a new effective step towards the formation of the modern architecture of global energy security, a powerful driver of economic and social stability in the Asian region,” Berdimuhamedov said. Sharif commented that the project “will usher in a new era” and Ansari said it was “the first step to the unification of the region.” Ghani highlighted the political will behind the project.
Read the full story at The Diplomat