Foreign relations of Turkmenistan

Five countries bordering the energy-rich Caspian Sea met on Aug. 12 at an economic forum hosted by Turkmenistan in a bid to agree on how to divide the region's oil wealth.

Romania's Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu said on Monday, in the beginning of a high-level conference to mark the adoption of the new EU Strategy for Central Asia - Connectivity for sustainable development, that the countries in that region have undergone important changes and new opportunities are opening up for them.

Construction has begun on the Afghanistan stretch of an ambitious pipeline that is to carry natural gas from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

Turkmenistan opened a railway link to Afghanistan on Nov. 28 to boost exports of fuel as the gas-rich but cash-strapped nation seeks to ease its dependence on China and Russia.

Energy-rich Turkmenistan's leader has ordered the start of construction on a pipeline carrying gas from the former Soviet state to India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the government said Nov. 7.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a visit to Turkmenistan on July 11 backed stronger energy ties with the gas-rich ex-Soviet state.

EU energy boss Maros Sefcovic said late on April 30 that Europe could import natural gas from ex-Soviet Turkmenistan via Iran as Brussels ramps up efforts to break its dependence on Russian-sourced energy.