Monday August 29, 2016
Kabul (BNA) For the first time, Afghanistan and China officials have inaugurated a special transportation railway in Jiangsu State, aiming to directly transfer the Chinese commodities to Afghanistan and vice versa. During the opening ceremony, Janan Musazai, Afghanistan’s ambassador to China said, the railway has established based on ‘One Belt One Road’ structure and is expected to transfer the Afghan merchants’ containers to Chinese Himen City twice in a month.
Likewise, it is expected that through the railway, the Afghan exporting merchandizes, such as marble, saffron, dried fruits, etc. to be shifted to China, Musazai added. Establishment of the special transportation railway will also create new opportunities to boost both countries’ trade, through which the merchandizes will be transferred sooner, safer and with fewer prices, Musazai asserted. Musazai added that after starting direct flights from Kabul to Urumqi since two months, inauguration of the railway direct transportation is an important step for both countries.
Afghanistan and China have had trade relations through Silk Route since long, and Afghanistan as a transit route and regional intersection has played significant role in strengthening regional connectivity.
Musazai also clarified that starting of direct shipments between Afghanistan and China can help beef up trade and economic ties of the two countries. As China is considered to be a great market for production and consumption of merchandizes, raw materials and energy, the exporting of Afghan products are expected to be increased, Musazai further said. Furthermore, it will pave the way for new opportunities to strengthen the infrastructures and productive capacities as well as joint investments of both countries’ private and government sectors, Musazai went on to say. Surely, commencing of the direct shipments line will play precious role in development of Afghanistan railway sector which is one of the priorities of the Afghan government, Musazai continued.
It is to be mentioned that the train will pass through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to reach Afghanistan’s Hairatan Port. What is very important is maintaining security of the project, so the government of Afghanistan should pay serious attention in the respect so the workers and engineers precede their works in the related project with peace of mind.
