Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have expressed their willingness to import natural gas from Iran, Tehran Times reports citing the Iranian national gas company as source.
“The talks between Iran and these two Central Asian countries are expected to begin in the nearest time,” Mehr News agency quotes Iran’s gas official Abdulhusein Bayat as saying.
Iranian Ambassador to Tajikistan Ali Asgar Sherdust recently said that Iran is planning to export gas to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China using a new pipeline. “According to the agreement recently achieved by top Tajik, Iranian and Afghan officials in Dushanbe, the new pipeline with link Iran to Tajikistan through Afghanistan going further to Kyrgyzstan and China,” the Iranian ambassador told the reporters one month ago.
On March 25 this year heads of Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan met in Dushanbe and signed an agreement of cooperation for development of communications, including future construction of the pipeline.
Tehran Times reports that Iran currently produces 554mln cubic meters of gas per day. Last year Iran has increased gas export by 10.5% as compared to previous year up to 7.6bln cubic meters.
Iran has the world”s second largest gas reserves after Russia.
In recent years Tajikistan imports gas from Uzbekistan only. However, Uzbekistan regularly cuts gas supplies to Tajikistan due to multiple contradictions in relations between the two states.
