Vice President Hamid Ansari today left on a three-day visit to Turkmenistan where he will attend the ground-breaking ceremony of the ambitious TAPI natural gas pipeline. Last month, energy-rich Turkmenistan’s President had ordered the start of construction on the 7.6 billion dollars pipeline carrying natural gas from the former Soviet state to India through Afghanistan & Pakistan.
During his visit, Ansari accompanied by Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, will participate in events marking the 20th anniversary of the Central Asian country’s status of permanent neutrality. The Vice President will also address an international conference on policy of neutrality, peace, security and development. He is also scheduled to pay homage at the bust of Mahatma Gandhi which was inaugurated by Modi early this year in the Turkmenistan capital.