Uzbek-Afghan railway to put 'China-India Plus' plan on track

By Abhishek G Bhaya

A key rail link extension project connecting

Uzbekistan and Afghanistan could see collaboration between Beijing and

New Delhi in what could be demonstrative of the"China-India Plus"model

which was recently proposed by Beijing enabling the two Asian giants to

cooperate in development and connectivity projects in other countries.

Landlocked

Uzbekistan is looking to access sea ports in the Persian Gulf through a

transnational rail link via Afghanistan (another landlocked country)

and Iran, and is seeking collaboration from both China and India in the

project.

Amid reports that Uzbek President Shavkat

Mirziyoyev has invited India to join the railway project on his recent

state visit to New Delhi, an Afghan government official told CGTN

Digital that Kabul welcomes both China and India for the venture which

presents a splendid opportunity for the two countries to cooperate under

a multilateral framework in Afghanistan.

"We are

very positive and welcome China-India cooperation in Afghanistan,

especially in connectivity projects," Amir Ramin, Director General of

Regional Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Afghanistan, told CGTN

Digital.

"This railway project is not only important

for Uzbekistan and Afghanistan but also for both China and India. The

rail link will boost trade and transit through an economic corridor that

will directly impact the security and prosperity of the region in a

very positive manner," Ramin elaborated.

Uzbekistan Railways workers build the Hairatan-Mazar-e-Sharif railway in Afghanistan in 2010. /Photo via Asian Development Bank.

In

2011, Uzbek state railway company, Ozbekiston Temir Yollari, built a

short rail link connecting the Uzbek-Afghan border town of Hairatan with

the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif. Tashkent now plans to

extend the line to Herat in northwestern Afghanistan, seen as a gateway

to Iran. Another link, already under construction, will connect Herat to

Iran.

It is important to note that China is already

running a rail route into Uzbekistan under the Belt and Road Initiative

(BRI) and has also sent freight trains to Afghanistan's Hairatan using

the network. The railway line from China to Afghanistan, that runs

through Uzbekistan, was inaugurated in September 2016.

Uzbekistan,

which has so far committed 500 million US dollars for the 650-kilometer

Mazar-e-Sharif-Herat railway project, has held talks with China and the

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for possible collaboration

in the past few months.

This

combination of two photos shows (L) the first cargo train departing

from Yingtan in east China's Jiangxi Province to Uzbekistan, Sept. 18,

2018; and another cargo train departing from Nantong in east China's

Jiangsu Province to Hairatan, Afghanistan, Aug. 25, 2016. /VCG Photo

(CGTN)