A high-ranking delegation from Turkmenistan has come to Kabul and discussed issues related to the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, officials said on Saturday.

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The Turkmen delegates included deputy Foreign Minister Wafa Khadzhieve and Mohammad Murad Amanov, the chief of the TAPI company, as well as other officials.

Officials from the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum said they agreed with the Turkmen delegates to resume the TAPI project construction in Afghanistan in the near future.

"We will try to start it soon and its implementation phase will start by the second half of this year," said Shahabuddin Dilawar, acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum.

Meanwhile, the Turkmen delegates met with Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi and talked about bilateral relations, the implementation of regional projects, and the resumption of the TAPI project in Afghanistan.

"Afghanistan considers TAPI an important national project. We are ready to take practical steps for its implementation," Hanafi said.