ASTANA, August 3. /TASS/. Afghanistan invites Russia and Kazakhstan to take part in a project to build a trans-Afghan railway, Nooruddin Azizi, Minister of Commerce and Industry in the interim government formed by the Taliban (outlawed in Russia), told TASS.

"We invite Russia and Kazakhstan to join this project. In my view, it’s not just about investing in Afghanistan because this railway will benefit everyone, and we are ready to receive working groups from these countries to consider this project together with them," he said on the sidelines of a Kazakh-Afghan business forum in Astana.

According to the official, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan should set up an office in Kabul to make coordination easier and resolve technical issues as quickly as possible.

In February 2021, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan signed a plan to build a railway connecting Termez, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kabul and Peshawar. The construction of the railroad, some 600 kilometers long, was expected to take five years and cost about $5 bln. The new transport corridor is supposed to connect the European Union, Russia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Southeast Asian countries. However, the project stalled due to a lack of funds after the Taliban came to power in August 2021.