Turkmenistan wants to make Gwadar its home port

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berduhamedov Thursday arrived at the Government House here to discuss the regional connectivity projects as Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berduhamedov showed his willingness to make Gwadar his country’s home port.

Both the leaders were briefed on regional connectivity projects by Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal and Chairman NHA Shahid Ashraf Tarar.

The two leaders were briefed on the proposed road projects to connect the CARs with Pakistan under the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) programme.Pakistan, China and Central Asian States are part of the CAREC programme.

The CAREC programme is a partnership of 10 countries and six multilateral development partners to promote regional development through cooperation to achieve an accelerated economic growth and poverty reduction.

A detailed presentation was given to both the leaders on different options of connectivity routes with the CARs.The proposed routes include roads from Gwadar with Termez via Quetta, Kandhar, Herat and Mazar Sharif.

Another road is proposed to be constructed from Karachi to Tashkent via Torkhum, Kabul, Kunduz and Dushanbe. The third proposed route is Gwadar to Ashgabat, a road to be built via Quetta, Kandahar and Herat. Nawaz said infrastructural development of Pakistan was the economic lifeline of the country.

“Completion of regional connectivity projects along with CPEC projects will turn around the economic outlook of Pakistan and will prove to be a game changer for the entire region”, he added.

The Turkmen president appreciated the infrastructural development vision of the prime minister and expressed interest in those proposed routes which fall along the TAPI gas pipeline. He also showed an interest in investing in Gwadar in different areas including storage facilities.  “We want to make Gwadar as our home port,” he maintained.

Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources and SAPM Tariq Fatemi were also present.Earlier, Muhammad Rafique Rajwana, Governor Punjab, also called on the PM at the PM House and discussed various issues.

Appreciating the government for its public welfare projects, the governor discussed various issues pertaining to Punjab with the PM.He said the mass transit systems, roads infrastructure and other projects of the government have greatly eased the difficulties of the public at large. He said the government had rightly prioritised development projects which, after their completion, will resolve the gravest issues confronted by the people.

Nawaz said the government was focused on revitalising each and every sector of the country, which unfortunately remained ignored in the previous governments’ tenures.“Our government will remove the energy deficiency by the end of our term in office. Our bids are also aimed at reshaping Pakistan by proactively pursuing mega infrastructure projects including CPEC, TAPI and many others. These projects will certainly change the destiny of millions of people in our region”, he added.