The governments of Tajikistan and Afghanistan signed on Monday in Dushanbe the Agreement on the construction of the railway between the two countries, Tajik Telegraph Agency reports. The line is the major link of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway project.
“The document was signed by the Minister of Transport of Tajikistan Khudoyor Khudoyorzoda and the head of the Afghanistan Railways Department Mohammad Yamma Shams,” the press center of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Tajikistan said. “The preparation of this agreement began in July last year based on the agreement of the parties reached during a meeting of the Tajik-Afghan intergovernmental commission on trade, economic and technical cooperation.”
The Ministry of Transport notes the strategic importance of the agreement, which creates the basis for the implementation of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway project.
This agreement also contributes to the implementation of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Iran railway project.
To finance the feasibility study of the railway project, meetings were held with representatives of the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The first phase of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway line, the 88 km Atamyrat-Ymamnazar-Akina line, was inaugurated in November 2016. The project is set to become the major part of the international transport corridor that will link Europe and Asia.
