On August 10, the National Leader of the Turkmen people and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, paid a working visit to the Mary Region and neighboring Afghanistan. As part of the visit, the National Leader arrived at the "Islim-Chesme" border zone in the Tagtabazar district, from where he crossed into the neighboring country to meet with the official delegation of Afghanistan. There, Hero-Arkadag took a commemorative photo with Afghan youth and presented them with gifts, as reported by the electronic newspaper «Turkmenistan: Golden Age».
Bilateral and expanded negotiations were held between the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, and the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of Afghanistan, Abdul Ghani Baradar. The Afghan side highly appreciated Turkmenistan's peaceful policy, its contribution to regional stability, and its consistent humanitarian assistance, viewing it not only from an economic perspective but also as brotherly support.
The main topic of the talks was strategic projects between the two countries, in particular the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline and its key segment, Serhetabat–Herat. Issues regarding the installation of power transmission and fiber-optic communication lines along the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan route were also discussed. The Afghan side emphasized the immense importance of these projects in creating new jobs and improving energy supplies in their country, expressing interest in studying Turkmen experience to train specialists for the gas sector.
Special attention during the meeting was paid to transport and logistics cooperation, including the capabilities of the Turkmenbashi International Seaport and the activation of the "Lapis Lazuli" international transport corridor (Afghanistan–Turkmenistan–Azerbaijan–Georgia–Türkiye). The National Leader once again highlighted the importance of mutually beneficial proposals to establish a unified logistics center in this direction, implement a "Single Window" system to simplify customs procedures, and maintain a unified tariff policy. Furthermore, in the cultural and humanitarian sphere, the expansion of education opportunities for Afghan students in Turkmenistan's higher education institutions was reviewed.
In order to bring cooperation to a new level, Hero-Arkadag proposed creating a Turkmen-Afghan Group on Economic Cooperation. As a result of the talks, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the "Turkmengaz" State Concern and the "Afghan Gas" State Corporation of Afghanistan on joint work to construct gas infrastructure in the Herat province and supply the region with Turkmen gas.
During the events, video materials demonstrating the construction progress of the Serhetabat–Herat gas pipeline were shown, followed by a festive charity dinner (sadaka). Having successfully completed his visit, the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, first arrived in the city of Mary and then returned to the capital, Ashgabat.
This working visit was another clear celebration of Turkmenistan's peaceful foreign policy based on the principles of positive Neutrality and good-neighborliness.
