Azerbaijan, Baku, July 13 / Trend /
Tajikistan hopes to reach an agreement with Kyrgyzstan on constructing a rail link connecting Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China, Asia-Plus reported on Friday.
Farida Muminova, a senior expert from the Tajik think tank, says certain work is being carried out to arrange a meeting with the Kyrgyz side to discuss that railroad construction project.
Muminova, deputy director of the Center for Strategic Studies in charge of economic issues, noted that the issue of constructing the Tajik part of the railroad had already been solved. "The investment project envisaging the reconstruction of the railway connecting Dushanbe and Vahdat Township and construction of the railroad from Vahdat to Kyrgyz Border via the Rasht Valley has been developed and included in the state investment program designed for 2012-2014," the expert said.
Sayfullo Safarov, deputy director of the Center for Strategic Studies, noted that Tajikistan, Iran and Afghanistan would not abandon that important project. He noted that there was another project envisaging the construction of the railway from Iran to Kyrgyzstan and farther to China via Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. "Therefore, there is a certain competition between the countries of the region," Safarov said. "Some our neighbors will try to impede construction of this regional railway via the territory of Tajikistan."
As it was reported earlier, Kyrgyz Minister of Transport and Communications Kalybek Sultanov told Tazabek news agency on June 19 that Kyrgyzstan has little interest in the rail construction project offered by Tajikistan.
Edited by V. Zhavoronkova