On 1 December 2023, a delegation from Afghanistan led by Bakht Rahman Sharafat, Director General of the Afghanistan Railway Administration, met with Azat Atamyradov, Head of the Turkmendemiryollary Agency (Turkmen Railways).
According to the Afghanistan Railway Authority’s press service, the meeting focused on in-depth discussions regarding bilateral cooperation in the railway sector.
Expressing gratitude for Turkmenistan’s cooperation, Sharafat highlighted the need to improve services at Afghanistan’s dry ports of Torghundi and Aqina, emphasizing that increased rail traffic between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan would be mutually beneficial.
The meeting resulted in the decision to establish a joint Turkmen-Afghan Railway Transport Committee, comprising railway officials from both countries. This committee’s primary objective is to further streamline coordination between the two nations.
The committee will convene monthly.
Additionally, it was agreed that a Turkmen technical delegation would visit Afghanistan to inspect the Andkhoy-Shabarghan and Torghundi-Herat routes alongside an Afghan technical team. In the future, a construction plan for these lines will be developed.
Furthermore, the Turkmen side expressed its willingness to accept Afghan students for railway transport education. The Turkmen side will inform the Afghan side of the study time and the number of accepted students soon.
Currently, Afghanistan’s railway networks connect to Turkmenistan’s railway system through two points: Torghundi and Aqina. ///nCa, 2 December 2023