WARSAW, June 15. /Dunyo IA/. Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan have reached a “conceptual agreement” on the establishment of a transit corridor that will connect Central Asia with the ports of the Arabian Sea, reports Dunyo IA correspondent, citing with the Polish digital portal “Kierunek Kaukaz”.

According to the Deputy Minister of Transport of Uzbekistan Jasurbek Choriev, the development of the project's feasibility study is currently underway, and the necessary field survey work along the route has already commenced. He noted that the next stage will involve determining the timeline and volume of investment attraction, as well as identifying potential international partners.

The statement was made during a panel discussion at the Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), held in Samarkand in May.

Deputy Minister also added that an alternative route via the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas is currently not being considered due to the 'highly unpredictable situation' in the region. In this regard, the route through Afghanistan to the Pakistani ports of Karachi and Gwadar has been chosen as the primary direction of development.

He underscored the necessity of coordinating the efforts of the region's nations for the timely development of new transport corridors. At the same time, the project's implementation faces a series of challenges, including Afghanistan's rugged mountainous terrain, financing issues and security uncertainties.

Additional risk factors include the unrecognized international status of Afghanistan's current authorities, which complicates the attraction of funding from international financial institutions, as well as the ongoing tensions in relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan.