Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 18
By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:
A presentation of the transport and communication strategy of Uzbekistan was held at the Eurasian Center of the Atlantic Council (AC) in Washington, Trend reports on Dec. 18 referring to Uzbek media.
Ambassador of Uzbekistan to the United States Javlon Vakhabov reminded that in December 2017, on the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a comprehensive five-year program was adopted to improve the transport infrastructure of Uzbekistan and diversify foreign trade routes. The document provides for the practical implementation of several international transport corridors, including Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman, Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China and the trans-Afghan route, which provides access to the seaports of Iran (Bandar Abbas and Chabahar) and Pakistan (Gwadar and Karachi).
After the state visit of the head of Uzbekistan to Turkmenistan in March 2017, rail and road bridges across the Amu Darya River have been opened, which allows more than double the volume of freight traffic. In addition, this project expands the possibilities of promoting the idea of creating a through transport and communication highway along the Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Caspian Sea-South Caucasus route with access to the Black Sea ports of Turkey, Romania and other countries.
After 20 years of negotiations, significant progress has been made in building a railroad connecting China and Central Asia through Kyrgyzstan. As a result of the projects, the length of the alternative land corridor, China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Iran (3,500 kilometers), will be four times shorter than the existing sea route between China and Iran (13,800 kilometers).
In general, the practical implementation of these initiatives will transform Central Asia not only into an international transit hub, but also a key link in the transcontinental economic space between South Asia, the Asia-Pacific Region, the CIS, Europe and the Middle East.
The Atlantic Council is an American think tank, founded in 1961 with NATO. It is a forum for political, expert, business circles, intellectuals, as well as leaders of international scale. The Council administers ten regional centers and functional programs related to international security and the global economy. The headquarters is located in Washington.
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