On Thursday July 6, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon met with his Afghan counterpart Mohammad Ashraf Ghani in Tajik president’s countryside residence Pugus on the sidelines of a quadrilateral summit of CASA-1000 member nations and a trilateral summit between Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
According to the Tajik president’s official website, the two discussed state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Interstate cooperation within the frameworks of the implementation of the Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade (CASA-1000) Project was named a striking example of top-level ties and participation of the Afghan delegation in the quadrilateral summit of CASA-1000 member nations became one more evidence of Afghan government’s thorough support for that important regional project summit
The meeting reportedly focused on issues related to further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and Afghanistan on trade, construction of power transmission lines, highways and railways, direct investment, and use of joint regional transit opportunities.
The Tajik and Afghan leaders exchanged views on further cooperation in providing security and stability in Afghanistan as well as combating terrorism, extremism, transnational organized crime and drug trafficking, the website said.
Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani arrived in Dushanbe yesterday on a one-day visit to participate in a quadrilateral summit of CASA-1000 member nations and a trilateral summit between Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The CASA-1000 project aims at developing energy corridor and land connectivity between Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade (CASA-1000) Project demonstrates landmark cooperation among Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The modern and efficient CASA-1000 electricity transmission system will help transform the region and signify an important step toward realizing the planned Central Asia-South Asia Regional Electricity Market (CASAREM). The CASAREM initiative will help not only these four countries, but also improve the electricity systems and develop inter-regional cooperation between Central Asia and South Asia.
The CASA 1000 project is scheduled to be completed in 2020. The total cost of the project amounts to 1.7 billion U.S. dollars.
The Project is expected to develop the necessary physical infrastructure and create the institutional and legal framework to transmit surplus power available from existing generation facilities in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The physical infrastructure for CASA 1000 includes: a 500 kV high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system between Tajikistan and Pakistan through Afghanistan; an AC transmission link from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to connect to the HVDC line from Tajikistan to South Asia; and the necessary electricity sub-stations in Kabul, Peshawar and Sangtuda (in Tajikistan).
