The Energy Corridor Struggle: The US May Pressure Russia to Agree to the Caspian Pipeline
Following consultations, a statement released by the United States and Turkmenistan mentioned that both sides will discuss supporting "bilateral commercial transactions with major American companies and expanding investment opportunities in Turkmenistan." Turkmenistan's statement also echoed this focus, stating that "both sides also considered the issue of implementing bilateral projects with major American companies and discussed the prospects of expanding their investment opportunities in Turkmenistan."
The trade volume of goods and services between the United States and Turkmenistan ranks second to last among the five Central Asian countries, estimated at 218.5 million U.S. dollars in 2024 (Tajikistan ranks last, with the trade volume of goods and services expected to drop to 172.4 million U.S. dollars in 2024; Kazakhstan leads the region, with an estimated trade volume of 5.5 billion U.S. dollars with the United States in 2024).
Possible investment projects include the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) oil pipeline and the prospects of the Caspian pipeline. The former is especially appealing to Ashgabat, as the project has spent decades and unknown funds, dreaming of building a natural gas pipeline crossing Afghanistan to reach energy-demanding markets such as Pakistan and India.
In recent years, the latter possibility has attracted greater interest from Washington, especially against the backdrop of Russia's war in Ukraine and the improved geopolitical climate in the Caucasus region.
Sources: The Diplomat
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