Last month saw a dramatic shift in one country’s control of its largest natural resource when the 1,833km China-Turkmenistan natural gas pipeline was inaugurated. The pipeline runs from Turkmenistan’s Samandepe gas field to central China. This was a geo-political coup for Turkmenistan, freeing Ashkabad from Russian domination of pipeline routes coming out of central Asia. Securing multiple pipeline routes out of the Caspian Sea as a means to circumvent Russia was also the basis for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which freed Azerbaijan from Moscow’s domination.
President Barack Obama has the opportunity to make a second Turkmen gas pipeline the pivotal part of his Afghan policy. The Tapi pipeline is a $7.6bn, 1,680km natural gas pipeline that would run from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and, eventually, to India. Such a major undertaking would improve living standards in Afghanistan by bringing desperately-needed jobs to the country as well as enhance stability by providing steady transit revenues for a long time. It may also, possibly, encourage Afghan combatants to work together for a common cause.
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