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Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan signed the Framework Agreement on the Joint Feasibility Study for the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Project<\/a> in Kabul on Thursday.<\/p>\n Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar made the announcement in a post on X from Kabul, where he arrived earlier today on a day-long visit for the signing.<\/p>\n \u201cI congratulate the people and governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan on the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Joint Feasibility Study for the Naibabad\u2013Kharlachi rail link under the UAP Railway Corridor.<\/p>\n \u201cI also thank the foreign ministers of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan for their support and commitment for timely signing of the agreement. We remained closely engaged throughout the negotiation process to finalise the details.\u201d<\/p>\n He hailed the UAP Railway Corridor as a major milestone in advancing regional connectivity and economic integration that would connect Central Asian countries to Pakistani seaports through Afghanistan.<\/p>\n Dar said the signing of today\u2019s agreement was a result of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif\u2019s leadership and commitment, who had tasked him as finance minister of the Pakistan Democratic Movement-led government to lead the effort with the countries.<\/p>\n \u201cWe collectively laid the foundation for this transformational project.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2023, the three countries agreed<\/a> on the UAP Railway project to build a rail link, which will pass through Termiz in Uzbekistan, Mazar-i-Sharif and Logar in Afghanistan and enter Pakistan via the Kharlachi border crossing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The project will facilitate regional, transit, and bilateral trade among\u00ad\u00adst participating countries, while supporting both passenger and freight services.<\/p>\n Dar arrived in Kabul earlier today, accompanied by Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi, the special representative for Afghanistan, and the secretary of the Ministry of Railways.<\/p>\n Dar and Abbasi later met acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.<\/p>\n According to the Foreign Office (FO), both sides called for maintaining \u201cthe momentum in bilateral relations\u201d and expanding cooperation in the trade, transit and security sectors.<\/p>\n \u201cThey agreed to remain engaged to achieve the full potential of regional economic development, including through [the] realisation of trans-regional connectivity projects,\u201d the FO wrote on X.<\/p>\n Earlier in the day, the FO said<\/a> the railway project aimed to build a rail link to connect Uzbekistan with Pakistan via Afghanistan and facilitate access to Pakistani seaports for Central Asian States.<\/p>\n \u201cBy facilitating regional trade and transit, the project is expected to promote regional stability, growth and development.\u201d<\/p>\n It added that the agreement between the three participating countries will be an \u201cimportant step towards its implementation\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring the visit, the deputy prime minister (Dar) will also hold a meeting with the Afghan acting foreign minister and will call on [the] acting prime minister of Afghanistan to discuss bilateral matters and exchange views on regional and international developments,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Dar spoke<\/a> with Uzbekistan\u2019s Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov and discussed progress on the Framework Agreement for the project.<\/p>\n