It appears Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan may have found a way to finance a trans-Afghan railway that would enable Central Asian exports to gain access to seaports in Pakistan.
Transport officials from the two Central Asian states have signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Arab Emirates covering “the practical development” of the railway, according to a Kazakh government statement.
Astana and Tashkent have been strong advocates for a trans-Afghan railway but lack the financial resources and technical expertise to implement the project on their own. The UAE’s inclusion would appear to address existing shortcomings, creating a pathway for construction to begin.
“The UAE brings international experience in transport infrastructure, logistics, and the implementation of major investment projects,” according to the Kazakh statement. It made no mention of specific financial commitments by any of the parties to the agreement.
Given the lack of international recognition of the Taliban government, the railway project to date has faced difficulty in attracting support from international financial institutions. Prior to the Taliban’s return to power, the Asian Development Bank supported the construction of a 75-kilometer stretch of railway connecting Hairaton, which sits across the Amu Darya River from the Uzbek border, to the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
The memo aims “to ensure transport connectivity between Central and South Asia and create additional opportunities for the development of international transport, trade, logistics and investment cooperation.”
The first step outlined in the document involves the preparation of “technical and economic studies and analytical assessments.” Planning work will also identify the scope of “necessary railway infrastructure and associated facilities” to traverse Afghanistan’s mountainous terrain.
The three signatories will also seek to establish a permanent working group to handle the railway’s “technical, economic and financial aspects.”
Even if the new partnership succeeds in addressing financing and engineering challenges, the railway project faces a major political obstacle, namely rancorous Afghan-Pakistani relations that have caused bouts of violence over the past year, prompting the closure of the two countries’ land border.
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