The Afghan railway administration department said Sunday that the extension of the railway line between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan will be one of the most important topics of discussion during President Ashraf Ghani’s next visit to Uzbekistan.
The department’s deputy head Abdul Bari Seddiqi said Uzbekistan is interested in helping Afghanistan to extend the railway line in order for them to have a direct route to Iran.
He said the most direct route would be through Afghanistan. The plan is to run the line from Mazar-e-Sharif in Balkh province, through four provinces, to Herat.
A main line and subsidiary lines would be built, said Seddiqi. He said: “The line would extend from Neyababad in Mazar-e-Sharif to Herat on one side and to Kunduz on the other; Uzbekistan can be connected to the Afghan railway lines via this link,” he added.
The railway administration said that by establishing a north-west network, trade between Iran, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China would increase and trade ties between Uzbekistan would also increase.
The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) meanwhile confirmed trade and transit agreements between high-ranking officials from Afghanistan and Uzbekistan would be signed during Ghani’s visit to Uzbekistan.
“The president is expected to travel to Uzbekistan soon, and sixteen memorandums of understanding (MoU), including a MoU to start building a railway network will be signed. Transit problems are expected to be resolved, and trade ties will be boosted. This is all good news for us and it will give us hope that we should invest more in Afghanistan,” Sayam Pasarlay, spokesman for the ACCI said.
The north-west railway network is one of six major regional railway projects – and the total line will stretch 1,100 kilometers in the country.
Officials from the railway administration said once this railway network is complete, five countries in the region, plus Afghanistan, will be directly connected.
