Uzbekistan has resumed freight trains to Afghanistan through the Hairatan-Mazar-i-Sharif railway line after its closure last week due to some issues between the two sides.
The suspension in trade between the two neighboring countries ended after 10 days and according to Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA) 50 wagons of commercial goods arrived at Haritaran port from Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan Railway also confirmed the decision to restore services and said the development was made after this week’s meeting with the Afghan officials.
UR in a statement said that the meeting was positive and Baiturrahman Sharofat, head of the Afghan railway’s department, led the talks with the Uzbekistan side.
Authorities in Uzbekistan Railway said a new contract was signed between Afghan Railway Administration and Uzbekistan’s Sogdiana Trans in order to resume and facilitate further operations of the Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif line.
“We have already agreed on the structure of the deal and delegations from both sides have been working to prepare a draft for a new contract or Memorandum of Understanding,” said Sami Durrain, a spokesman for ARA.
Technical committee consisting of two parties has already established contact and started working, according to Durrain.
Traders welcome resumption of trade line
The Afghan traders and members of private sectors have welcomed the announcement and extolled related officials from Afghanistan and Uzbekistan for their efforts in the resumption of the line.
They also called on the Taliban officials at the ARA to take every step to keep the railway line active and operational with Uzbekistan and other neighboring countries.
A member of the private sector Ahmad Munabi said that business through railways is helpful to improve the economy and also reduce timing. “Railway is also much cheaper than road transportations and it is very safe,” he added.
Of course we should work hard to keep our trade relations with our neighbors, especially with those countries that we are connected via railway, said an economic expert.
“Also we can do a very lucrative business with our neighbors in the oil market because Central Asian countries, including Russia, are interested in this regard,” said Mohammad Amini, an economic expert.
Welcoming the resumption of the railway line between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, Amini said that both counties are neighbors and both have the potentiality to grow their economies.
The Hairatan-Mazar-e-Sharif railway line is 75 km long and was established in 2010.
Suspension of railway line
On February 1, the government of Uzbekistan suspended transportation to Afghanistan, citing failure on the Afghanistan side on technical issues. Taliban did not fulfill the technical obligations as per an agreement signed between Kabul and Tashkent in late December last year.
After its closure, the Taliban called on the traders to import goods via the Aqina port, arguing that trades must not stop between the two countries.
It is worth mentioning that the Hairatan–Mazar-e-Sharif rail line has remained one of the main transit routes for goods, including food and liquefied gas between the two countries.
The railway that was constructed at the cost of $129m in 2010 by the government of Uzbekistan has now become a key business tool.
In the past several years, Afghanistan has connected with Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran through railways, but the Khaf-Herat railway, which connects Afghanistan to Iran, was damaged.
The damage incurred during the return of the Taliban into power in 2021 and most of its equipment was stolen, and currently work on its reconstruction is underway.
Room for cooperation
Beside the neighboring countries, trade relations between Afghanistan and Russia are on an improving path. Dmitry Zhirnov, Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan had just said there is room for cooperation between Kabul and Moscow. However, he also spoke about difficulties ahead of local Afghan businesses.
In an interview with Rossiya 24 TV Channel, Zhirnov said “There is room for cooperation; the question is what are the priorities of the Afghan side itself, what are the authorities and Afghan business ready to invest in the first place.”
Zhirnov said that cooperation between Russia and Afghanistan must be based on mutual benefits where both the countries should earn profits.
“Our business is still testing those Islamic financial principles that the officials of the de facto government in Afghanistan are introducing,” the ambassador said, quoted by the agency.
Projects between Afghanistan and Russia
The envoy also touched upon a number of agreements and projects which are currently underway between the two countries.
A handful of those projects included construction of a thermal power plant in northern Afghanistan, and construction of the Afghan section of the Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI). Russia also wants to participate in the renovations of the Salang tunnel, which is connecting Kabul to the southern parts of Afghanistan.
Russia also hosted the 5th Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan in the early of this week, where representatives from India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan were invited to the Meeting. The dignitaries discussed various Afghanistan-related topics, including security and the humanitarian crisis.
