MOSCOW, April 9. /TASS/. Russia sees an opportunity for launching a transit corridor to transport cargo via the territory of Pakistan, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said.
"We see huge potential in the sphere of facillitating transport and logistical routes. Russia pays great attention to accelerated development of promising international transport corridors. Pakistan, with its good transit opportunities, may play an important role in this process," he said on the occasion of Pakistan’s National Day.
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 begin in September 2021, and estimated to take five years. 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. Work to draft the route of the future Trans-Afghan railroad and other preparatory works begun in July 2022.
Uzbekistan expects the construction of the Trans-Afghan railroad connecting Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan to begin in 2025. Its transit potential is estimated at 20 million tons of cargo annually.
Other areas of cooperation
Among other key areas of trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Pakistan, Rudenko named energy and agriculture.
"Russia remains an important supplier of agricultural products to the Pakistani market, providing key amounts of wheat," he said. "We are ready to keep supporting Islamabad in ensuring its food security."
In his words, Russia is set to continue boosting its bilateral trade with Pakistan, which grows "despite a complicated situation in the global economy.".