Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- As previously reported, on 12-14 April, negotiations were held in the city of Termez with an Afghan delegation headed by Chairman of the Afghan Railway Administration Bakhturrahmon Sharafat.

The Afghan side expressed gratitude for the measures taken by the Uzbek side to strengthen bilateral relations, the significant assistance provided to Afghanistan. At the meeting, the guests refuted the disinformation spread by the media that Afghanistan allegedly plans to terminate cooperation with Uzbekistan Temir Yollari. 

Contrary to this, B. Sharafat separately emphasized the intention to strengthen bilateral cooperation and plan for its further expansion. The Afghan side expressed its full satisfaction with the work of the SE "Sogdiana-Trans" (subordinated to JSC "Uzbekiston Temir Yollari") for the operation of the railway line "Khairatan - Mazar-i-Sharif", which has been operating since the date of commissioning of this line, since 2011.

Given the situation in Afghanistan in the second half of 2021, there was a significant decrease in railway freight turnover. Thanks to the joint work carried out in the first quarter of 2022, the volume of cargo turnover reached last year's level (more than 1.1 million tons). During the negotiations, the Afghan side stressed its readiness, together with Uzbekistan Temir Yollari, to organize work to maximize the use of opportunities to speed up the unloading of wagons, thereby increasing the volume of incoming cargo at the Hairatan station, as well as speeding up the rehabilitation of the Naibabot and Mazar-i-Sharif stations.

As part of the last meeting, a visit was organized to the educational center for training Afghan citizens in Termez, created on the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In addition, the guests got acquainted with the training center in the Termez locomotive depot, where young Afghan railway specialists undergo practical training. The delegation talked to the promising personnel of their country, got acquainted with the conditions of education and life created for them. Further cooperation in the educational sphere was discussed, in particular, for the training and advanced training of Afghan railway specialists in Afghanistan, together with Uzbek railway workers, it is planned to create a field training center based on Hairatan station.

The delegation of Afghanistan separately emphasized the importance of implementing infrastructure, especially railway projects, since at present one of the vectors for the development of cooperation between Afghanistan is the interest in participating in projects for the integration of Central Asia with South Asia. In this regard, a separate point of negotiations was the issue of accelerating the implementation of the project "Construction of the Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway." In particular, the details of organizing and conducting a field expedition along the route, and thereby help speed up the preparation of a feasibility study for a project to build a new railway line..