A joint Turkmen-Afghan seminar is taking place in Mary city (eastern Turkmenistan) with the assistance of the OSCE, media reports Feb. 11 with reference to the Turkmen foreign ministry.

The event is attended by representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs, internal affairs, defense, energy and specialists of the Turkmen and Afghan oil and gas sector, as well as authorized representatives of the Istanbul Process (established to provide a platform to discuss regional issues, particularly encouraging security, political, and economic cooperation among Afghanistan and its neighbors) participating states.
Participants of the Istanbul Process are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the UAE.
The purpose of the seminar is to enhance the functionality of the regional infrastructure in the context of promoting cross-border cooperation by sharing best practices and discussing international practices and approaches related to managing potential threats, the report said.
In particular, the parties considered issues related to the promotion of regional infrastructure projects, including the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline and power transmission lines in this direction.
The seminar will last until Feb. 12.
The program includes such large-scale regional initiatives as construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline and the Lapis Lazuli trade and transport corridor.