Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-Railway Project
July 12, 2021
High-level international conference on regional connectivity in Tashkent exhibits the zeal and zest for global trade and commerce with Central Asia. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan have already signed a US$ 4.8 billion railway project that is likely to bolster trade relations between Pakistan and South Asia.The proposed rail link with track length of 573-km, would connect Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent through Afghanistan’s capital Kabul and Peshawar in Pakistan. The project is being viewed in Uzbekistan as the “event of the century”, since it is aimed at improved regional trade and connectivity by offering landlocked Central Asia, a direct access to Pakistan’s Arabian Sea ports. This connectivity corridor is also known as Trans-Afghan railway line ‘Mazar-e-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar project.
The first-ever shipment under the Convention on the International Transport of Goods for traffic-in-transit of goods across the border has left for Uzbekistan from Pakistan via the Torkham border customs station. Photo courtesy Razak Dawood Twitter
ISLAMABAD: After a delay of 30 months, the first-ever shipment under the Convention on the International Transport of Goods for traffic-in-transit of goods across the border has left for Uzbekistan from Pakistan via the Torkham border customs station.
Pakistan Customs processed the first-ever TIR consignment from Karachi at Torkham destined for Tashkent via Afghanistan. The consignment consisted of herbal medicines and after completion of all Customs formalities at Torkham it crossed into Afghanistan.
ISLAMABAD: The first-ever shipment under the Convention on the International Transport of Goods for traffic-in-transit of goods across the border has reached Uzbekistan from Pakistan in 48 hours via Afghanistan.
Islamabad signed the Convention on International Transport of Goods Under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention) in August 2015, which is a multilateral treaty that entails no payment of Customs duties and taxes. Pakistan ratified the convention in January 2016.
An official statement quoted Commerce Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood as saying that the long-term vision of the government for trade and economic relations with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Central Asian Republics (CARs) is that we want to make Pakistan a hub for trade, transit and trans-shipment