A number of projects that will help Afghanistan revive its economy are to be implemented.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov held talks with Prime Minister Imran Khan during his two-day visit to Pakistan. It was learned that the Port of Karachi and the Gwadar port in Pakistan could be the gates to landlocked Central Asia after Pakistan had opened the shortest route to the international seas for the Central Asian states, the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan reports.
Currently, the countries are working jointly to develop two large-scale projects: the Trans-Afghan railway and a highway through China.
In February, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan signed a roadmap for the 600-km Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway project in Tashkent. The project is expected to take 5 years to complete. Its estimated cost is US$ 4.8 billion. The international financial institutions, including the World Bank, have supported the project.
Imran Khan welcomed the proposed Trans-Afghan Railway project and emphasised that Pakistan would make every effort to build this important facility as soon as possible.
Bilateral talks also addressed the issues of regional connectivity. Abdulaziz Kamilov invited Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to attend a conference aimed at boosting connectivity between Central and South Asia.
As was reported, Kamilov invited the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey to attend the international forum, which would take place in Uzbekistan.
