ISLAMABAD : Pakistan and Uzbekistan have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in the railway sector and advancing regional connectivity during a meeting between Federal Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi and Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Alisher Tukhtaev.
The discussions focused on advancing the Trans-Afghan Railway project. It was agreed to organize a visit of the Pakistani Minister to Uzbekistan to further implement joint projects.
Pakistan-Kazakhstan Rail Connectivity: Valued at roughly $7 billion, this strategic project aims to provide Pakistan with direct land access to Central Asian markets and is projected to take about three years to complete.
Broader Regional Linkages: Minister Abbasi has also held discussions to bring Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan into these transit networks, while working to revive the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul train service.
To ensure these regional rail links function efficiently, Pakistan Railways is actively upgrading its domestic network, including the Nokundi-Rohri track near the Reko Diq mining project, and planning major ML-1 and ML-2 upgrades to link the network from Karachi upwards.
