President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and President of Afghanistan Mohammad Ashraf Ghani launched new international infrastructure facilities, including the railway between the Afghan stations Akina and Andkhoy, built by the Turkmen railway workers, as well as the Kerki (Turkmenistan) - Shibergan (Afghanistan) power transmission line and fiber-optic communication lines.
The leaders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan joined the inauguration ceremony of the facilities via teleconference - the President of Turkmenistan from the city of Turkmenabat and the President of Afghanistan from Kabul.
The commissioning of these facilities will open up opportunities for the two states to efficiently implement the transit transport, energy and communication potential of cooperation.
Speaking at the ceremony, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that these three projects would give a powerful impetus to the long-term development of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. According to him, this work will contribute to strengthening the security and economic development of the region.
In his turn, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani emphasized that projects for development of railways, electricity trade and establishment of a fiber-optic network would help to improve the living conditions of the Afghan people and create conditions for development of the region.
“We want to turn Afghanistan into a regional crossroads, and, undoubtedly, Turkmenistan, which has achieved many successes in this area, can play an important role in this regard as a good neighbor and strategic partner of Afghanistan,” he stressed.
The 30 kilometer-long Akina-Andkhoy railway branch is part of a large-scale transport project initiated by Ashgabat with the view of connecting the countries of the region with the railway network of China, the Caucasus and Turkey.
The Kerki (Turkmenistan) - Shibergan (Afghanistan) power transmission line is 153 kilometers long with the capacity of 500 kW. It is part of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan power transmission line project that provides for exports of Turkmen electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The new fiber-optic line between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan is designed to serve as a key information bridge between the countries of the region and the world.