VZCZCXRO1863
RR RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #0721/01 1881156
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071156Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7546
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC//DHO-2/REA/NMJIC-J2//
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCJ5-E//
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC//J5/RUE//
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 1661
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0392

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000721 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ENRG TX AF ETRD PGOV SOCI ZK
SUBJECT: Afghan-Turkmen Relations:  Mutually Beneficial 
 
Ref: Ashgabat 450 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) During a July 6 meeting with PolOff, Afghanistan 
Depuy Chief of Mission Rooz M. Noor discussed bilateral 
trade, transport routes,  political relations, future joint 
projects and the general state of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan 
bilateral relations. END SUMMARY 
 
Afghan Trade with Turkmenistan 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Turkmenistan-Afghanistan bilateral trade mostly 
flows in one direction, namely energy products -- such as 
liquefied gas, diesel, gasoline and gas-generated 
electricity -- to Afghanistan.  According to Noor, 
Turkmenistan exported approximately $123 million worth of 
goods from Turkmenistan, and imported only $32 million worth 
of Afghan products in 2005.  Afghanistan sells fruit, 
licorice, spices and nuts to Turkmenistan.  Noor pointed out 
that this was only trade "on the official level" and that 
there was significant lower-level economic interaction 
between the two countries. Also, he mentioned that "there is 
the desire to increase trade engagement with Turkmenistan, 
however the cumbersome visa process makes it difficult for 
Afghans to travel to Turkmenistan.  On the other hand, our 
embassy can issue a visa to any Turkmen willing to work in 
Afghanistan in just one hour."  Notably, last week 
Afghanistan inked a new deal to purchase 100,000 tons of oil 
from Turkmenistan. 
 
Energy and Transportation Links 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Noor mentioned that shortly after the visit of 
Afghan delegation headed by Afghanistan's Power and Water 
Resources Minister (and former Governor of Herat) Muhammad 
Ismail, Niyazov announced that Turkmenistan will write off 
half of Afghanistan's current $8 million debt to 
Turkmenistan as a gesture of goodwill.  Furthermore, in 
addition to selling Afghanistan electricity far below market 
price, Niyazov recently said he wants to extend the current 
electricity lines past Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat all the way 
to Kabul. At the current price of $0.02/KWh, Turkmenistan's 
potential annual revenue from Afghanistan could reach $9.8 
million, based on a 490 MW Afghan import assumption 
(reftel). 
 
¶4. (SBU) Noor also discussed the proposed Trans-Afghan 
pipeline with great enthusiasm, and said that Afghanistan, 
"wants to realize the Trans-Afghan pipeline with U.S. 
support and help" but with the caveat that "without [U.S.] 
help the project is not possible to implement." 
 
¶5.  (SBU) There are only two routes connecting the countries 
-- the unpaved Imamnazar-Andhoy road and a short road and 
rail link between Serhetabad and Turghundi, which connects 
to Herat.  Noor expressed his belief that Kelif in the south- 
eastearn part of Turkmenistan could be a "major gateway into 
Afghanistan."  He recalled that before the Soviet Union, the 
city of Kelif (Keleft) was a major customs point.  He cited 
the advantages of Kelif as a transit point, including its 
proximity to a railway line and bridge over the Amudarya 
River near Islampinja in Afghanistan. (Note: Noor was a 
governor of Jowzan province, where Kelif is located. End 
note.)  Kelif is also connected to the cities of Shibargan 
and Mazar-i-Sharif. 
 
Diplomatic and Political Relations 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Noor characterized bilateral relations as friendly, 
saying that "Turkmenistan is our friendly neighbor and we 
never had any conflicts with them."  While Afghanistan has 
an embassy in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan maintains an embassy in 
Kabul and has consulates in both Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat, 
which are holdovers from when the time of Taliban rule, when 
Niyazov was attempting to maintain good relations with both 
the Northern Alliance and the Taliban.  Noor told PolOff 
 
ASHGABAT 00000721  002 OF 003 
 
 
that Turkmenistan's diplomatic missions mostly "monitor the 
security situation" and provide technical assistance to the 
Turkmen-Afghan power projects -- despite over 2 million 
ethnic Turkmen living in Afghanistan. 
 
Narcotics Traffic 
----------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) On the subject of narco-trafficking between the two 
countries, Noor admitted that this was a problem, but 
downplayed the severity.  Noor admitted that there are 
currently 64 Afghan citizens imprisoned in Turkmenistan for 
drug-related charges, but that the trafficking was not that 
bad, since "the authorities will imprison someone for just 
having two or three grams of heroin" on them, and besides 
"60kg was the largest" heroin seizure here. 
 
Educational and Cultural Exchanges 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Like their economic relationship, educational and 
cultural exchange is somewhat one-sided.  There are 
currently over 30 Afghan students studying in Ashgabat at 
the university level on a program that is fully-funded by 
the government of Turkmenistan.  This is a sharp increase 
from only a handful of slots two years ago, and Noor did not 
know of one example of a Turkmenistani going to study in 
Afghanistan.  Furthermore, Turkmenistan regularly sends 
technical advisors in the energy and electricity field to 
assist with Afghanistan's power grid.  Afghanistan is hoping 
to stage its first cultural exchange later this year with a 
planned trip by a musical ensemble for Turkmenistan's 
October Independence Day celebrations. 
 
Atmospherics 
------------ 
 
¶9. (SBU) Speaking a combination of antiquated Turkmen, Dari 
and Turkish throughout the conversation, Noor was very 
upbeat and lost no opportunity to express almost extreme 
gratitude to the United States for its assistance in various 
areas.  As the former governor of Jowzjan province in 
Afghanistan, he routinely met with and accompanied Americans 
throughout his region, and had no shortage of anecdotes 
about promoting U.S.-Afghan relations in this way. 
Throughout the meeting, the television was tuned to Voice of 
America television broadcast, but without the sound. 
 
Future assessment of TX 
----------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) While Noor was resoundingly positive about future 
prospects for Turkmenistan's economic development, he was 
less so on the political side.  He averred several times to 
comment on the situation, making statements like, "we are in 
favor of democracy everywhere," and "all people have a right 
to be free," eventually settling on "Afghanistan respects 
the neutrality policy of Turkmenistan and does not interfere 
into the internal affairs of other countries."  However, 
when pressed, Noor said that there was the possibility that, 
"the spark of democracy started in Afghanistan has the 
potential to spread to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan." 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) The mutually beneficial nature of Turkmenistan's 
relationship with Afghanistan is somewhat unusual, without 
the normal litany of complains about lack of cooperation and 
frustration with the government that other neighboring 
countries have expressed.  Yet despite the Turkmenistan's 
favorable balance of trade, Niyazov's unusual generosity and 
energy assistance seems driven by a long-standing concern 
about the Afghans.  Even during the Taliban regime, Niyazov 
exerted extra efforts to have good relations with 
Afghanistan, and was even more-actively encouraging the 
Trans-Afghan pipeline at that time.  His recent electricity 
projects and energy agreements aside, more telling are both 
the limited access points and the strict visa regime, which 
although not unique, illustrates Turkmenistan's principle of 
"good fences make good neighbors," and Niyazov's desire to 
 
ASHGABAT 00000721  003 OF 003 
 
 
actively curb any possible foreign influences whenever 
possible.