North-South route: an important transport and transit corridor

On July 19, 2024, as part of the First «North-South» Trade and Logistics Forum taking place in Aktau (Kazakhstan), a trilateral meeting of the heads of transport departments of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Afghanistan was held, during which a wide range of issues related to further capacity building were discussed cooperation between the three states in the transport sector.

In particular, the parties discussed the conditions for transporting goods along the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Afghanistan route with further access to Pakistan. At the same time, at the above-mentioned trilateral meeting, the possibilities of participation of the turkmen, afghan and kazakh sides in the implementation of the project for the construction of a railway from the turkmen-afghan border to the city of Herat (Afghanistan) were considered.

During the negotiations, it was emphasized that the transport route «Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Afghanistan» is an important component of the transit corridor «North-South», the effective use of which will ensure the transportation of goods in the amount of 5 to 8 million tons at the initial stage, and in the future - from 20 to 30 million tons.