Afghan Minister calls for linking Khaf-Herat railway to Chabahar

Islamabad, Dec 30, IRNA -- Afghan Minister for Commerce and Industry terming Khaf-Herat railway project a great achievement for the people of Afghanistan has said that by connecting this railway line to Chabahar-Zahedan rail network another window for development of Joint trade with Iran will be opened. Nisar Ahmad Faizi Ghoryani during an exclusive interview with IRNA on Wednesday on the sidelines of the 8th round Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) in Islamabad said that Afghanistan's banking problems related to transit trade from Iran's Chabahar port have been resolved. He said the difficulty in receiving money related to the exports of Afghanistan to China and India through the port of Chabahar, had issues that had caused a slowdown in the speed of our transit activities. Ghoryani who received a vote of confidence from the Afghan parliament as the Minister of Industry and Trade last November added: "Afghanistan raised the banking issue in the port of Chabahar with the American parties." “The port of Chabahar is excluded from Washington's sanctions list, which is why the banking issue has been raised with the United States several times, and we have managed to get a 100 percent promise to lift it,” said the minister. He said: "The banking problem in Chabahar will be solved in the next few days and there will be no more obstacles or reasons for sabotaging Afghanistan's transit trade through this important Iranian port." Faizi Ghoryani called Chabahar a strategic port and an easy route to ensure the interests of Afghanistan and the region and added: Considering the recent remarks of Dr. Hassan Rouhani, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran on railway development between the two countries, we hope the Khaf railway will be connected to the Chabahar-Zahedan railway project." **Iran is Afghanistan's route to Europe Appreciating the friendly and brotherly country of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its constant support to the people of Afghanistan, the Minister for Commerce and Industry of Afghanistan said: "Launching the Khaf-Herat train is a great commercial initiative that was welcomed by high-ranking officials of the two countries and nations." He added: "Khaf railway is a great project that connects Afghanistan to Europe through the Islamic Republic of Iran." We hope that the construction of phase 4 of the railway to Herat and from there to Turkmenistan and Mazar-e-Sharif will be carried out soon. **Afghanistan ready to provide facilities to Iranian investors Nisar Ahmad Faizi Ghoryani expressing his views said ‘we are obliged to fully implement the Presidential Order and the Ministry of Industry and Trade encourages investment, and in this regards, I invite Iranian investors to participate in Afghan industries and in return, the Kabul government will provide all the facilities needed by the Iranian parties. "Afghanistan imports stand $ 7 billion a year, and we can work harder with Iranian investors to meet the needs of industry inside Afghanistan. Ghoryani stressed: Neighboring countries, especially Iran, have a special share to participate in Afghanistan and invest. We have cultural commonalities between the two brotherly countries of Iran and Afghanistan, and we can use this opportunity to deepen interactions between the business and economic community of the two countries and access Iran's strong capabilities, especially in technology, in the Afghan reconstruction process. According to IRNA, the Khaf-Herat railway started its operation in December this year which is considered to be an important step in the development of the railway network. The important thing is that this international project has been completed under oppressive US sanctions.