Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan signed a Joint Protocol on (UAP) Railway project at Ministry of Railways Islamabad on July 18, 2023.
ISLAMABAD: A trilateral Working Group Meeting of three countries on Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railways project was held at Ministry of Railways Islamabad. Syed Mazhar Ali Shah, Secretary / Chairman Pakistan Railways led Pakistani side whereas delegations of Afghanistan was led by Alhaj Bakhtulrehman Sharaft, Director General and CEO of Afghanistan Railways Authority. Mr. Dekhkanov D.T, Head of the Transport Department of Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan represented the Uzbekistan side.
The working group finalized the route of the project in today’s meeting. The signing ceremony of Joint Protocol also took place in the presence of the participants.Federal Minister Railway Saad Rafiq and Minister Finance Ishaq Dar, Ambassador of Republic of Uzbekistan H.E Aybek Arif Usmanov were also present.
The key objectives of UAP project is to build a missing rail link by connecting Uzbekistan railways with Pakistan railways via Termiz- Mazar e Sharif-Logar- Kharlachi route.
The UAP railway project would not only facilitate the regional, transit and bilateral trades amongst the participating countries, but also provide better people-to-people connections to the entire region.
The line will support both passenger and freight services, and would contribute in regional trade and economic growth. The parties also agreed on a roadmap for conducting technical studies, financing sources and other key aspects for early implementation of the project.
The parties appreciated the professional work of the experts of the three railways in achieving consensus on the final route and its implementation modalities.
