Work underway on proposal for 5-nation railway line

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): Uzbekistan says it has initiated work on a proposal for laying a railway connecting Uzbekistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan.

A meeting of the heads of railway officials from these five countries was held in Tashkent on December 3 and 4, Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Furqat Sidiqov was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Aimed at boosting regional trade, the proposed railway line will pass through Uzbekistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Tashkent has suggested a commission to save time and money.

Sidiqov, according to well-placed sources, said Uzbekistan had shared the proposal with Afghanistan. “Now it is up yo Kabul to work on it and give them a reply.”

In a meeting with the diplomat, Federal Minister for National Food Security Sahibzada Mehboob Sultan said Uzbek exporters should be directly accessed by Pakistani importers as the cotton imported through the Afghan border last month was actually Uzbek cotton.

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