“Turkmenportal” previously reported with reference to Orient that today in Ashgabat a meeting of the heads of the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan with representatives of the Taliban movement took place.

In accordance with Orient, during today's press conference, Taliban officials made a statement to the media. Specifically, it says the following:

“Dear media representatives!

First of all, let me welcome you to today's press conference and introduce myself. My name is Mohammad Suhail Shahin and I am a member of the Political Directorate and Negotiation Group of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

On behalf of the IEA Political Office, I would like to express my gratitude to the Turkmen side for the invitation to visit Turkmenistan and for the warm hospitality.

Yesterday, as part of our visit, we visited two mosques and got acquainted with the ancient religious monuments and cultural traditions of the Turkmen people.

Today, here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, we held talks in an open and friendly atmosphere with His Excellency Rashid Meredov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and Deputy Prime Minister, and his delegation, during which we positively assessed the policy of neutral Turkmenistan towards to Afghanistan and long-term political and economic support for Afghanistan, which neighboring Turkmenistan provides, has provided and will continue to provide.

Turkmenistan, as a Muslim, neighboring, neutral state, has been putting forward initiatives to establish peace and development in Afghanistan for a number of years.

The implementation of infrastructure projects in Afghanistan initiated by Turkmenistan deserves special attention and assessment. There is no doubt that early construction of projects such as TAPI, TAP and railways from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan will contribute to the achievement of prosperity and economic development in Afghanistan. On the one hand, while we are fighting for the independence of our country, in the meantime, we are trying to contribute to the prosperity of our people and the development of our country, ensuring the protection of all national projects in the country.

In this regard, as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, we declare our full support for the implementation of TAPI and other development projects in our country and ensuring their security.
Thank you for attention!”.