DUSHANBE, August 25, Asia-Plus – Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai have had short talks to exchange views on bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and Afghanistan in different spheres.
After that, the presidents left for the Hissor Fortress.
In the meantime, President Rahmon is supposed to receive Carlos M. Gutierrez, the Secretary of the US Department of Commerce, today afternoon. Later, Afghan President Karzai will join them.
A tripartite meeting is expected to discuss a broad range of issues related to cooperation between the countries. The sides will touch upon issues related to introduction of a bridge across the Panj River in Panji Poyon into operation.
Tomorrow, both president and the US commerce secretary will attend a ceremony of inauguration of the bridge.
The United States, which supplied most of the funding and know-how for the project, hopes the bridge will consolidate permanent overland links between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, enhancing economic and commercial opportunities for both sides of the river and allowing goods and people to move across more easily.
An article “Bridge Connecting Tajikistan and Afghanistan Set to Open” by David Trilling, posted on the Eurasianet website, said the $37-million span, construction of which began almost two years ago, stands to especially benefit Tajikistan, where external trade has suffered from a lack of efficient and reliable overland trade routes.
Built to withstand earthquakes and the Panj River’s swift currents, the bridge contains 13,000 cubic meters of concrete procured from Tajikistan, as well as steal from Russia and Germany, said Brian Walls, a civilian who is overseeing the project on behalf of the US Army Corps of Engineers, according to the article.
More than 600 local workers helped build the bridge, with Afghans now helping their Tajik counterparts complete the necessary customs infrastructure.
The length of the bridge across the Panj River is 672 meters, and the width is 11.6 meters. The bridge is expected to transport more than 1,000 cars daily.
