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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.

In his address to the CEOs attending the Fourth US-India Energy Partnership Summit, he said more than half of India’s power came from coal. TAPI would help shift the region away from carbon-based energy sources, Blake added.

With the Obama administration opposed to the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline and pushing for the TAPI project to address the massive energy shortage of India, Blake said the latter could allow unprecedented cooperation and commercial synergy.