DUSHANBE, April 19, 2013, Asia-Plus – The first meeting of the Joint Coordination Working Group for the practical implementation of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan for the railway construction project took place in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on April 18.
Turkmenistan’s national news agency TDH reports the delegations of the three countries discussed a number of specific issues related to the prospects of implementation of the project aimed at construction of a rail link connecting Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
We will recall that a trilateral meeting of the presidents of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan took place in Ashgabat on March 20 on the sidelines of the International Navrouz Celebrations.
Emomali Rahmon (Tajikistan), Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov (Turkmenistan) and Hamid Karzai (Afghanistan) signed the MoU for construction of the rail link connecting the three countries.
The 400-kilometer railroad is expected to connect the Afghan town of Akina-Andkhoy to Atamurat-Ymamnazar in Turkmenistan and Panj in Tajikistan.
Construction is planned to begin in July in Turkmenistan. Turkmen workers are also to build the Afghan section of the railway.
The construction work is scheduled to be finished by 2015. The railway link will play an important role in strengthening the economies of the countries and peoples in the region.
China, Iran and Kyrgyzstan are expected to join this ambitious project.
Meanwhile, a 75-kilometer line from Afghanistan into Uzbekistan began operating in late 2011.
