Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar and Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Amir Khan Muttaqi have emphasised the importance of the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Line Project for regional connectivity.
During a telephone conversation between FM Dar and his Afghan counterpart on Sunday, the two leaders agreed to work closely for an early finalisation of the framework agreement, the Foreign Office spokesperson said in an official statement.
A day ago, Dar held a telephone conversation with Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Saidov Bakhtiyor Odilovich as well and discussed the modalities for early finalisation of the framework pact for the UAP railway, including details of its signing ceremony in consultation with the leadership of Afghanistan.
The UAP Railway Line Project is a trilateral initiative that will enhance regional connectivity by connecting Central Asia with the ports of Gwadar and Karachi through Afghanistan. This project will link Tashkent to Peshawar via Kabul through a 573-kilometre track that will be built with an estimated cost of $4.8 billion.
Talking about the upgradation of diplomatic ties between the brotherly countries, Muttaqi welcomed the decision of Pakistan to upgrade its diplomatic relations to the ambassador level and informed that Afghanistan has decided to reciprocate the same.
He termed it a very positive development in bilateral relations.
Both leaders also reviewed the implementation of decisions taken during the deputy prime minister’s visit to Kabul on April 19 and vowed to continue working together to establish mutual trust between the two brotherly nations.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have embassies in each other’s capitals but they are led by charge d’affaires, not ambassadors.
Islamabad on Friday announced upgrading the chargé d’affaires in Afghanistan to the level of an ambassador amid improving ties with the neighbouring country.
In response, the next day, Kabul also announced elevating its diplomatic post in Islamabad to full ambassadorial status.
China was the first country to accept an ambassador from the Taliban-run administration in Kabul, though it does not formally recognise its government. Several other states, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), followed.