Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan sign agreement on railway project

KABUL: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan on Thursday signed the Framework Agreement on the Joint Feasibility Study for the Naibabad–Kharlachi rail link under the Uzbekistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan (UAP) Railway Corridor.

The agreement was signed during Deputy Prime Minister Senator Ishaq Dar’s visit to Kabul who confirmed the development in a post on X.

“I congratulate the people & governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan on the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Joint Feasibility Study for the Naibabad–Kharlachi rail link under the Uzbek–Afghan–Pak  (UAP) Railway Corridor,” the deputy prime minister posted.

“The UAP Railway Corridor, a major milestone in advancing regional connectivity and economic integration, will connect Central Asian countries to Pakistani seaports through Afghanistan.”

Ishaq Dar hailed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to ‘lead’ the effort with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan for the trilateral rail project.

“The signing of today’s agreement is a result of the leadership & commitment of the last PDM Government (2022–23), under Prime Minister @CMShehbaz when I was tasked as Finance Minister of PDM government to lead this effort with brotherly countries, and we collectively laid the foundation for this transformational project,” the deputy prime minister added.

He also thanked foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan for timely signing of the agreement. “I also thank the Foreign Ministers of Uzbekistan @FMSaidov & Afghanistan for their support & commitment for timely signing of the agreement. We remained closely engaged throughout the negotiation process to finalise the details.”

During his visit, Ishaq Dar also met with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, where both leaders agreed to remain engaged to achieve full potential of regional economic development, including through realization of trans-regional connectivity projects, a DPM’s Office news release said

The two sides called for strengthened efforts to maintain the momentum in bilateral relations and to expand cooperation in trade, transit and security domains to the mutual benefit of both peoples.