India, Turkmenistan ink MOU on programme of cooperation

October 9th, 2009 Turkmenistan denies entry to Peace CorpsALMATY, Kazakhstan — The reclusive Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan has denied entry to dozens of Peace Corps volunteers, the organization's country director said Friday. The decision to bar 47 volunteers from the U.S.

September 16th, 2009 MINSK - India and Belarus will sign two bilateral agreements during External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna's two-day visit to that country.

August 31st, 2009 Turkmenistan plans Caspian naval base amid disputeASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — Turkmenistan will establish a naval base on the Caspian Sea, the Central Asian nation's president said Monday — a move that could inflame disputes over the area's lucrative hydrocarbon fields. Addressing top security officials in televised remarks, President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov said a base will be built at the port city of Turkmenbashi to help "effectively fight smugglers, terrorists and any other forces." The joint naval and coast guard base will have two ships armed with missiles and an unspecified number of cutters, Berdymukhamedov said.

July 28th, 2009 Turkmenistan eyes gas sales to BritainASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — Turkmenistan's president has said his energy-rich country wants to export natural gas to Britain as part of its strategy to find new markets, state media reported Tuesday. The remarks provide a further boost to European hopes of tapping into the Central Asian nation's vast gas holdings and gradually reducing dependence on supplies from Russia.

July 17th, 2009 Turkmens, RWE sign energy exploration dealASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — German energy giant RWE AG has signed a deal with Turkmenistan to develop oil and gas fields off the energy-rich country's Caspian shore, state-run media said Friday. The agreement is another breakthrough in European efforts to tap Turkmenistan's lucrative energy resources and could help efforts to diversify European gas deliveries away from Russia.

July 16th, 2009 Turkmenistan begins creating vast lake in desertASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — The Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan is creating a 2,000-square-kilometer (770-square-mile) lake in the heart of a barren desert. State media say water is being channeled toward the 70-meter (230-foot) Karashor depression in northern Turkmenistan to create what will be called the Golden Age Lake.

July 14th, 2009 PARIS - India and France on Tuesday reiterated their commitment to strengthen cooperation on countering the menace of terrorism. A statement released after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's working lunch with French President Nicholas Sarkozy said that there was a "strong convergence of interest on the threats posed by terrorism and measures to counter it." Both leaders also expressed their satisfaction over the implementation and cooperation between the two countries in the fields of civil nuclear energy,space and defence.

July 12th, 2009 Turkmenistan plans gas pipeline to IranASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — Turkmenistan has agreed to build a new pipeline to supply natural gas to Iran from a field previously reserved for deliveries to Russia, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday. The deal appears to be part of an effort by the energy-rich Central Asian nation to reduce its dependence on Russia, the main market for its gas exports.

June 25th, 2009 China, Turkmenistan seal long-term energy dealASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — China has secured a long-term deal to buy 40 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from energy-rich Turkmenistan. State newspaper Neutral Turkmenistan reported Thursday the two countries have agreed on the binding details of a 30-year contract to increase China's annual gas purchases from the previously agreed amount of 30 billion cubic meters, starting in 2010.

June 25th, 2009 China, Turkmenistan seal landmark energy dealASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — China signed a 30-year deal to increase purchases of natural gas from Turkmenistan by 30 percent, state media reported Thursday — a landmark agreement for Beijing as it competes with Moscow for access to Central Asia's energy wealth. No value was announced for the deal, which also marks another step forward in Chinese efforts to find long-term, stable energy supplies.

June 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is fully committed to implementing the landmark India-US civil nuclear deal, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has declared noting that it had "removed the final barrier to broader cooperation between us." The deal provided a framework for economic and technical cooperation between the two countries and allowed them to move beyond concerns about the status of India's nuclear programme, she said at the US-India Business Council's (USI BC) Synergies Summit here Wednesday. Noting that the status of India's nuclear programme had "dominated our relationship for much of the last decade", Clinton said the completion of the deal marked the culmination of the "second stage" in the history of India-US relations.

June 9th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Nepal and India signed four Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) aimed at fostering cooperation under the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) framework here on Monday. The MOUs were signed by Foreign Secretary of Nepal, Gyan Chandra Acharya and Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Rakesh Sood.

June 7th, 2009 China, Turkmenistan seal $3 billion energy loanASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — China will lend energy-rich Turkmenistan $3 billion to develop its vast South Yolotan natural gas field, Turkmen state media reported Saturday. The loan marks a key step in Chinese efforts to secure long-term energy supplies from ex-Soviet Central Asia and will likely loosen Russia's grip over Turkmenistan's gas exports.

April 24th, 2009 US urges Central Asia to boost gas export routesASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — A recent crippling gas pipeline blast in Turkmenistan, which the government blamed on Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom, is proof that energy-rich Central Asian nations need to diversify their export routes, a senior U.S. diplomat said Friday.

April 21st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - With India launching its first spy satellite, RISAT-2, to keep an eye on all activities along Pakistan border, experts believe that Pakistan too would initiate a programme to counter the Indian move. Experts are of the view that Pakistan would not remain insensitive over the issue and would soon follow India to boost its surveillance potential.