UBG praises Pakistan-Uzbekistan-Afghanistan rail network deal

KARACHI: The United Business Group (UBG) praised the historic tripartite agreement for the creation of a rail network connecting Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, calling this agreement a guarantee of strength between Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.

According to United Business Group (UBG) central spokesperson Gulzar Firoz, Chairman UBG, Sindh Region Khalid Tawab said the business community expressed its best wishes for this important tripartite agreement to establish a major rail network and this historic decision led by the respective governments will promote regional, transit and bilateral trade as well as people-to-people connections across the region.

Khalid Tawab expresses its profound appreciation for the momentous trilateral accord inked by Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan to establish a pivotal rail network interlinking their nations. This landmark decision, spearheaded by the respective governments, is poised to foster regional, transit, and bilateral trade while enhancing people-to-people connectivity across the entire region.

The chairman UBG (Sindh) is confident that this transformative initiative will ignite economic growth, facilitate tourism prospects, and solidify trade relationships in the area.

According to the agreement, the rail connection will traverse Termiz in Uzbekistan, Mazar-i-Sharif and Logar in Afghanistan, and culminate in Pakistan via the Kharlachi border crossing in Kurram. Envisaging a approximately 760 km railroad, this ambitious project is expected to reduce cargo delivery distance between Uzbekistan and Pakistan via Afghanistan by approximately five days, while also slashing the cost of goods transport by at least 50 per cent.

With great optimism, the UBG anticipates that the successful completion of this route will bring Central Asia’s vast opportunities closer to Pakistan’s population of 230 million, while simultaneously unlocking new trade corridors with Arabian Sea nations. Stressing the urgency of connectivity in the ECO region, the UBG notes the current negligible volume of trade and believes that this endeavor is the need of the hour to foster economic prosperity and cooperation.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023