PAKISTAN has officially signed a trilateral railway agreement with Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, marking a significant step towards bolstering regional connectivity and fostering economic integration.
The initiative, known as the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Project, aims to establish a crucial link connecting Uzbekistan with Pakistan via Afghanistan. This strategic corridor is designed to provide Central Asian States with vital access to Pakistani seaports, unlocking new avenues for trade and transit.
This landmark agreement is, perhaps, first concrete step towards realization of the cherished goal of establishing viable linkages and corridors among countries of the region that could help spur regional trade and create inter-dependencies that serve as crucial factors in promoting peace and security. In 2023, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan reached an agreement on the UAP Railway project, aiming to establish a rail link that will connect Termiz in Uzbekistan, Mazar-i-Sharif and Logar in Afghanistan and enter Pakistan through the Kharlachi border crossing in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The UAP railway project – for both passenger and freight services – will not only facilitate regional, transit and bilateral trade, but will also provide better connectivity to the peoples across the region. Pakistan enjoys best of relations with all the Central Asian Republic (CARs) as confirmed repeatedly by the top leadership of Pakistan and these states but it is also a fact that we have not been able to translate this into tangible economic and trade cooperation due to lack of required infrastructure. The volatile situation in Afghanistan was mainly to be blamed for lack of progress towards creation of effective linkages and this is also the reason that projects like TAPI and CASA-1000 could not be accomplished. After a long time, we have a Government, which controls the entire Afghanistan and is working hard to stabilize the country. It is encouraging to note that during talks of Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar with the Afghan leadership, the two sides agreed to remain engaged to achieve the full potential of regional economic development, including through realization of trans-regional connectivity projects. This understanding augurs well for implementation of the UAP as well as other connectivity projects in the region, which would go a long way in realization of the dream of intensified economic cooperation and bilateral trade targets.
