WASHINGTON (Pajhwok): The United States has urged Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India to engage an international energy company to take forward the ambitious TAPI gas pipeline project that has the potential to transform the entire region.
“We encourage the TAPI parties to bring an international energy company into the project to work in cooperation with Turkmengaz in the development of the gas supply and serve as commercial champion for the project,” a State Department spokesperson told Pajhwok Afghan News.
WASHINGTON (PAN): As China's involvement grows in Afghanistan, should the White House request Beijing to send its troops to this war-torn country, a US Congressional report has said.
WASHINGTON (PAN): Continuing to push for the ambitious gas pipeline crisscrossing Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, the United States has said it would lead to regional development.
“Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, or TAPI, which stands to bring enormous energy relief to a region still saddled with aging coal generation facilities and inefficient power generation methods,” Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said.
WASHINGTON (PAN): US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Indian counterpart SM Krishna on Monday reviewed the recently-concluded Afghan-US-India trilateral dialogue and an ambitious gas pipeline project.
“Secretary Clinton and Foreign Minister Krishna reviewed last week’s US-Afghanistan-India trilateral dialogue and discussed regional economic integration projects, including the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline,” an official said.
WASHINGTON (PAN): A prominent American lawmaker, who was denied entry into Afghanistan yearly this year, Wednesday announced to hold a Congressional hearing into the deal between a Chinese firm and the Afghan government.
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations chairman, in a statement expressed grave concern on recent deal made by Karzai family and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC),
WASHINGTON (PAN): In a major development the United States and India on Wednesday announced to hold trilateral consultations with Afghanistan.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the proposed three-nation-talks at a joint news conference with the visiting Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, following the conclusion of the third India-US Strategic Dialogue.
“Today we agreed to move forward with a formal trilateral consultation among our three nations,” Clinton told reporters.
CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (PAN): In a major breakthrough, Afghanistan and Pakistan on Sunday agreed to extend their transit trade agreement to Central Asia, a move that will boost bilateral and regional trade.
WASHINGTON (PAN): Mines Minister Wahidullah Shahrani has assured the United States that transparency will be maintained in awarding mining contracts and the best international practices adopted in this regard.
On a short visit to the Washington, Shahrani met US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman and Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake on Friday.
WASHINGTON (PAN): The vast mineral resources of Afghanistan, now mapped by the US Geological Survey, could transform the country's war-tattered economy, an American official said on Thursday.
"The mineral resources in Afghanistan have the potential to completely transform the nation's economy," said Regina Dubey, acting director of the Department of Defense’ Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO).
WASHINGTON (PAN): The Khanashincarbonatites in southern Helmand Province have an estimated one million metric tonnes of rare earth material, according to a US Geological Survey (USGS) estimate.
This estimate came on Wednesday from a 2009-2011 USGS study, funded by the Department of Defence Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO). "This is just one more piece of evidence that Afghanistan's mineral sector has a bright future," said TFBSO Acting Director Regina Dubey.
