A major new railroad is set to revolutionise trade and travel between Pakistan and the nations of Central Asia.
The proposed railway line will connect Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan and is expected to boost not only travel and tourism but also unlock significant economic opportunities for the region.
“We know that this is our future,” said President Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, calling it a crucial project for regional integration.
At an estimated cost of $4.8 billion, the three neighbouring countries have signed an agreement to construct a 573-kilometre (356-mile) railway line through Afghanistan, connecting landlocked Central Asia to Pakistani seaports.
During a recent visit to Tashkent, Pakistan’s PM Shahbaz Sharif and the Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed an agreement to form a tripartite committee with Afghanistan to move the project forward.
The project is advancing despite that fact that the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan and the recent upsurge in militancy in the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan have resulted in a rise in political tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.
Nevertheless, realising the long-term economic benefits of modern transport links to its neighbours in Central Asia, Pakistan has shown considerable determination and resolve to see the project fully implemented.
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United by bonds of religion, culture and history, the peoples of South and Central Asia often express a strong desire for closer military and political integration between all the states of Central Asia, known as the “stans.”
Consequently, the three countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan have been pushing towards ever closer economic integration over the last few years.
As a part of a broader vision, the new rail corridor will incorporate land and sea routes, linking Central and South Asia to the UAE’s Jebel Ali port – one of the busiest maritime hubs in the world.
In a recent conference on Regional Connectivity, Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to Islamabad highlighted Pakistan’s access to the sea and its developed port infrastructure which has the ability to provide Uzbekistan and its neighbours in Central Asia with crucial connectivity to international trade routes and global markets.
Bilateral trade between Pakistan and Uzbekistan reached $404.5 million in 2024. Building on this momentum, the two nations have committed to increasing their trade volume to $2 billion over the next 4 years, as they signed several agreements to cement bilateral economic and trade ties.
The two sides said that they discussed collaboration in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, machinery, mineral resources, textiles, leather and other industries by exporting finished products to third countries.
Islamabad and Tashkent also agreed to enhance airlinks with new flights planned from the largest Pakistani city of Karachi and the historic Uzbek cities of Samarkand and Bukhara.
