New Delhi, Apr 10 : Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari is returning home this afternoon after a week long successful tour of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

The tour has opened new hopes of cooperation in hydrocarbon sector. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Turkmenistan on oil and natural gas and Kazakhstan's readiness to turn proactive on projects in the key sector were the highlights of Ansari's visit to Central Asia.

Ansari reviewed the situation about trouble spots in South and Central Asia with Kazakh and Turkmen leaders.

They also reviewed progress on Turkmenistan-Afghanistan, Pakistan-India gas pipeline. On the implementation of the multi billion dollar project, the technical committee meeting on the project will be held soon, official sources said.

Both Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan extended support to India's candidature for the membership of the U.N. Security Council.

Ansari was also conferred doctorate degree by Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, India and Kazakhstan agreed to move their cooperation from generalities to "project specific" agenda in areas of hydrocarbon, pharmaceuticals, information technology and education, even as Kazakh President Nurusultan Nazarbayev told Ansari that his country hoped to double the export of oil from 50 million tonnes annually to 100 million tonnes over the next 10 years.

On terrorism, the two sides pledged to fight the menace in all its forms and manifestations. It was felt that there was an urgent need to tackle this problem as it poses threat to the world peace.

ANI