Turkmenistan signed a natural gas deal with Pakistan and India on Wednesday, in a significant boost to the proposed construction of a 1,800-kilometer (1,100-mile) pipeline across Afghanistan. Representatives from India's state-owned Gail Ltd. and Pakistan's privately run Pakistan's Inter State Gas System traveled to Turkmenistan to formalize the deal, which will see the two countries receive gas through a pipeline projected to pump 90 million cubic meters (3.18 billion cubic feet) a day. They hope the gas supplies will help to meet their growing energy needs, which are set to double by 2030, according to a report of the Associated Press. "This is a truly historic moment of unparalleled regional cooperation," said Klaus Gerhaeusser, director general of the Asian Development Bank's Central and West Asia department. "Each country stands to gain, making this not only the 'Peace Pipeline,' but a pipeline to prosperity as well."
