ASHGABAT (SW): President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani pronounced the newly established rail link with Turkmenistan as a step forwards towards transforming Afghanistan into a roundabout of trade across Asia.
Ghani joined the host President Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov for the inauguration ceremony. The two neighbours opened the first section of a $2 billion link connecting the two countries by railway line for the first time. This link can provide an easy access for Afghan traders to reach Central Asian, Turkish and eventually European markets.
Ghani said in his remarks on the occasion that Afghanistan wants to connect China via Sheberghan and Mazar-e-Sharif with Iran. “The connection of Aqina (Faryab, Afghanistan) with the Central Asian rail network is an important step in the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan ties, and is also a major step towards growth of trade in the Asian continent”, Ghani remarked.
Speaking on the occasion, Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said that his country is ready to promote ties with Afghanistan in other sectors as well. He noted that Turkmenistan would export some 50 Megawatts of electricity to Afghanistan next year, and this would increase to 300 Megawatts by the year 2018. President Berdymukhamedov added that the rail link would help create some 12, 000 jobs in the short term.
The newly established rail link between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan reaches some 3.5 kilometers inside Afghanistan.
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