Your Excellency, Mr. Muhammad Ashraf Ghani, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,

Your Excellency, Mr. Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,

Your Excellency, Mr. Sooronbay Sharipovich Jeenbekov, Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Last year, in May, we have jointly launched the implementation process of the CASA-1000 project which is a symbol of our practical and efficient cooperation for the benefit of our peoples.

Alongside with ensuring the social and economic development of our countries, the CASA-1000 project will also connect us with a stable power bridge which expands and deepens our cooperation in other vitally important spheres of our lives.

Besides, the CASA-1000 is a key element of the regional energy market which will bring together producers and consumers of electricity in our regions.

Tajikistan has the ability to export electricity all year round by increasing the capacity of its production.

In order to achieve this goal necessary measures have been taken in our country throughout the period after gaining the state independence.

There are two medium and a number of small hydropower stations with a total capacity of more than 1200 megawatts have already been built and put into operation.

By the end of 2018, we are planning to put into operation the first generator unit of the large Roghun Hydropower Station.

At the same time, a number of projects have been implemented and are at the implementation stage in order to increase the production capacities of the existing hydropower facilities, as well as to expand the power transmission networks.

The total amount of investments attracted for these purposes is more than 1.8 billion USD.

All these steps would tangibly increase our opportunities in production of the “green energy”.

I would like to note that according to the World Bank, in terms of the production share of the “green energy”, our country is among the six advanced countries of the world.

The unique feature of the CASA-1000 is that this project helps to ensure the balance between the production of electricity in the countries of Central Asia and the consumption in the countries of South Asia, which face serious shortage of energy resources.

This project gives a positive impact to the comprehensive solution of currently important economic and social issues.

Provision of sustainable access to the affordable energy resources, creation of new jobs, poverty reduction and increase of living standards of the population are among of those pressing social issues.

In general, it is worth noting that the implementation of the CASA-1000 project will contribute to the timely implementation of the goals and objectives of the Global Development Agenda adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015.

In particular, the implementation of the project will seriously contribute to realization of our efforts to achieve the seventh Sustainable Development Goal, which requires the universal access to affordable and modern energy supplies by 2030 and significant increase in the share of renewable energy in the global energy balance.

In addition, the CASA-1000 project will facilitate the introduction of new commercial standards and modern technologies.

Availing myself of this opportunity, I would like to highlight the important role of our development partners in the development and implementation of the Project and express our gratitude to them for their active support and efficient cooperation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today we have gathered here to evaluate the implementation process of the previously agreed plans, and to exchange views on important and priority tasks regarding the implementation of the CASA-1000 project.

One year has passed since our last meeting, and during this period our experts and competent ministries and agencies have carried out important activities.

In this regard, I would like to draw your attention to the tender process, as well as the completion of the process of attracting contractors for construction of over 550 kilometers of high-voltage power transmission line in the territory of Afghanistan.

By the end of this year, the evaluation of tender proposals for construction of the converter substations and other power transmission lines will be completed.

Nevertheless, in our opinion, the project implementation process falls behind the deadlines.

Therefore, we believe that it is vitally important to prevent the further slowdown of the implementation process of the CASA-1000 project and increase our joint efforts in certain areas.

In this regard, I would like to take this opportunity to share the following views:

Firstly, it is necessary to ensure the implementation of all activities in accordance with the agreed plans and deadlines;

Secondly, it is high time to adopt relevant decisions, and to start without delay the construction of separate components of the project in the territories of the four countries.

Thirdly, we call on our partners to support in every possible way the efforts of the Government of Afghanistan to start immediately the construction of a DC power transmission line on its territory – a component of the Project for which the tender processes have already been completed.

Fourthly, considering the unique nature of the CASA-1000 project, it is necessary to effectively use the new mechanisms and procedures and find mutually beneficial, agreed and timely solutions.

Fifthly, construction of more than 1342 kilometers of high-voltage AC and DC power transmission lines, converter substations and the use of the latest equipment put additional and serious tasks for power engineering specialists.

For timely solution of those tasks, there is a need for comprehensive support by participating countries of the project and development partners.

Sixthly, the experience of implementation of the CASA-1000 project in recent years demonstrates the necessity of taking steps for optimization of the activities related with the project management mechanisms.

The changing external and regional conditions, as well as challenges and threats of the modern world require from us the adoption of efficient and decisive measures for timely and fully completion of the project.

According to some estimation, because of the delay in the implementation of the project, the participating countries annually lose more than 500 million USD in total.

To this end, we propose holding regular meetings of the competent officials of the project participating countries.

In addition, we also propose considering the possibility of holding annual high-level meetings of the project participating countries.

Thank you for your attention.