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30Strategy of Uzbekistan №01 (2021) / ISS 2181-2535
Afg'oniston IsIorYi Respublîka&idan ortilgan bïrinchi konteyner poyezdi
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TRANS-AFGHAN TRANSPORT CORRIDOR:
WITH HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
Iskandar OROKBOEV,
Expert at the Development Strategy Center
The Paragraph 262 of the State Program «Year of Youth Support and Health Promotion» calls on Uzbekistan to actively support global efforts to establish peace and sustainable development in Afghanistan, to take targeted measures on building a trans-
Afghan transport corridor connecting Central Asia with the Indian Ocean.
Indeed, the implementation of the trans-Afghan railway project, which is one of the factors contributing to the growth of the Uzbek economy and investment
attractiveness, is one of the most important issues.
In his annual Address to the Oliy Majlis on December 29, 2020, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev spoke about many topical issues of domestic and foreign policy and put forward
important initiatives. In particular, the President stressed the need to continue systematic efforts to address the problem of Afghanistan and ensure stability in the country, as well as practical steps to build a trans-Afghan transport corridor.
The initiatives of the President of Uzbekistan in the political, diplomatic and economic-transport spheres in Afghanistan play an important role not only in establishing peace in Afghanistan, but also in developing interregional cooperation between Central and South Asia.
At present, the trade volume between the Central and South Asian regions is much lower than the existing opportunities. For example, due to the lack of direct transport corridors, Uzbekistan's trade turnover with India and Pakistan is only $ 500 million. However, the market of South Asian countries is one of the
most promising ones for Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries. South Asia with a total population of 1.9 billion and with a GDP of $ 3.5 trillion is one of the fastest growing regions in the world (7.5% per year) . Therefore, this transAfghan transport corridor plays a very important role in the mutual trade of Central Asia and South Asia.
The Hayraton-Mazar-i-Sharif railway in Afghanistan was built in 2011, and it is through this railway that Uzbekistan makes a significant contribution to the development of the country's economy.
In the future, Uzbekistan's connection to Afghanistan by all modes of transport will allow the ports of Iran and Pakistan to easily convey their transit cargo in all directions, not only by rail, but also by road, pipeline and air.
During the official visit of the President of Afghanistan Ashraf
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Ghani to Uzbekistan in December 2017, more than 40 export contracts worth more than $ 500 million were signed. Among them, the agreement signed on the construction of the «Mazar-i-Sharif-Hirot» railway, which will extend the «Hairaton-Mazar-e-Sharif» railway, is of strategic importance.
In the words of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, «this project will make a clear and practical contribution to the recovery of the Afghan economy, create new jobs and increase the country's transit potential. The fact, that the work on transAfghan transport and communication projects has begun in close connection with other regional projects of similar importance, such as «Uzbekistan-TurkmenistanIran-Oman» and «Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China» creates the necessary conditions for the development of intercontinental
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transport corridors by the shortest routes in all directions from north to south and from east to west».
«Mazar-i-Sharif-Herat» railway project with the total length of 657 km, is an integral part of the railway corridor connecting Central Asian countries with South Asia through the Mazar-e-Sharif-Jawzjan-Faryab-Badghis-Herat provinces of Afghanistan. The construction of the «Mazar-i-Sharif-Herat» railway will increase
the opportunities for interchange of goods and transit not only for Uzbekistan, but also for all Central Asian countries.
The interconnected parts of the «Mazar-i-Sharif-Herat» railway project («Hayraton-Mazar-i-Sharif» - in full and the certain part of «Herat-Haf») have been completed, which all at once allows Uzbekistan to reach not only the Iranian ports of Bandar Abbas and Chabahar, but also provides direct access to Pakistan's Gwadar
and Karachi and India's Mumbai ports .
Shavkat Mirziyoyev also met with members of the governments of Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, who arrived in Uzbekistan on February 2, 2021 to attend the first meeting of the trilateral working group on the TransAfghan Railway project. During this meeting the construction of a railway connecting Afghanistan to Central and South Asia by the
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shortest route through the territory of Afghanistan, providing access to Pakistan's seaports and the efficient operation of their infrastructure was in the focus of discussion.
A total of $ 4.8 billion in loans is expected to be attracted for the «Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar» railway project. This is one of the first steps for the construction of the
railway.
Speaking of modern trans-Afghan projects, it is worth mentioning another project initiated by Uzbekistan. On December 3-4, 2018, the heads of the railway administrations of Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan met in Tashkent and signed a protocol on the establishment of a
financial consortium and a joint working group on the Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway.
The Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway is considered to be a railway line connecting Central Asia with South Asia via Afghanistan. In the future, this railway may serve for creation of 4305 km Russia-Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-
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India transport corridor. The railway will run through Mazar-e-Sharif-Baghlan-Kabul areas in Afghanistan and Torkham area in Pakistan. The total distance of the railway in Afghanistan is 573 km, and the capital Kabul is expected to become a hub connecting the routes, which in the future will be called the «Kabul Corridor». The planned electrification of the Surkhan-Puli-Khumri-Doshi-
Surabay-Jalal-Abad-Torkham section of the railway, as well as the establishment of logistics centres in Mazar-i-Sharif and Torkham, are of strategic importance for the intermodal transport system (railways and highways)». This «Kabul Corridor» includes not only the construction of railways, but also the construction of highways in the future. At the same time, this project will contribute
to the development of the economy of Uzbekistan and the further rapprochement of fraternal peoples.
Uzbekistan is stepping up diplomatic efforts to access Indian Ocean ports. It is actively negotiating with all countries with different geopolitical interests, especially on issues related to trans-Afghan projects. Independent expert Fozil Mashrab analyses the process
of negotiations between Uzbekistan and the United States, Russia, China, India and Pakistan in the framework of trans-Afghan railway projects, calling it «railway diplomacy.» In particular, the author notes that exactly one month after talks on linking the Mazar-i-Sharif-Hirot railway project with the Chabahar agreement during the official visit of President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to India, a delegation led by Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov met with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran
Khan to negotiate a railway project on connecting the two countries through Afghanistan.
In short, these projects will contribute to the
development of active diplomacy between Central Asia and South Asia. It will also usher in a new era in the South Asian direction of Central Asia.
References:
[1] The state program «Year of Youth Support and Health Promotion» for 2021. https://lex.uz/docs/-5260791
[2] Kholbekov M. The implementation of transport projects in Afghanistan can make Afghanistan an area of regional cooperation, a growth point and an integral part of interregional trade relations. (December 29, 2020) http://www.isrs.uz/uz/smti-ekspertlari-sharhlari/afgonistonda-transport-lojialarini-amalga-osiris-afgonistonni-mintakavij-amkorlik-majdoni-usis-nuktasi-va-mintakalararo-savdo-munosabatlarining-a-zralmas-kismiga-ajlantirisi-mumkin
[3] Mirziyoev Sh.M. The consent of our people is the highest appreciation given to our activities. - T.: Uzbekistan, 2018. - p.369-370.
[4] Implementation of Mazar-e-Sharif_Herat Railway Project. (2019 йил 3 апрель) https://ara.gov.af/en/implementation-mazar-e-sharifherat-railway-project
[5] Буронов С.М. «Мозори Шариф - Х,ирот» ва «Мозори Шариф - Кобул-Пешовар» темир йул лойщалари SWOT тах;лили. // УзМУ хабарлари, 2020, № 6.1. - Б.75.
[6] Умурзо^ов У. Глобал щтисодий, транспорт ва транзит йулаклари интеграцияси Узбекистонга нима беради? (2021 йил 12 февраль) https://xs.uz/uzkr/post/global-iqtisodij-transport-va-tranzit-jolaklari-integratsiyasi-ozbekistonga-nima-beradi
[7] Zohidov A.A. Improving the mechanism of effective management of the Central Asian transport system. Iqt. fan. doc. (Doctor of Science) diss. - T .: Uzbekistan, 2018. - P. 150.
[8] New transport corridor, new opportunities and large-scale prospects. (2018 йил 12 июль) http://railway.uz/en/informatsio nnaya_sluzhba/ novosti/12643/
[9] Boronov S.M. SWOT analysis of Mazar-i-Sharif-Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway projects. // News of the National University of Uzbekistan, 2020, № 6.1. - B.75.
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