The Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan, ISHAQ Dar, will visit Kabul on Thursday to sign a trilateral agreement on a joint feasibility study for the Uzbekistan rail project – Afghanistan – Pakistan (UAP).
Dar is accompanied by the Federal Minister of Railroads Muhammad Hanif Abbasi, the special assistant of the Prime Minister of Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq, and the secretary of the Ministry of Railways Syed Mazhar Ali Shah, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
🔊 PR NO2️⃣0️⃣8️⃣/2 Pasa
Raiser de Cortina: Deputy Minister Vice Minister/ Minister of Foreign Affairs, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, will visit Afghanistan to sign the Framework Agreement on the Joint Viability Study of the UAP Railway Project
🔗⬇️ pic.twitter.com/lgrfpbzeq1– Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeforeignEffick) July 17, 2025
The UAP rail initiative aims to link Uzbekistan with Pakistani’s sea ports through Afghanistan, creating a transit corridor that could transform regional trade and deepen connectivity between Central and South Asia.
Read: Pakistan, the Afghanistan trade reaches $ 1b in the first half of 2025
The signing of the Framework Agreement on Joint Viability Study marks a key milestone in the development of the project, and reflects Pakistan’s established commitment to regional infrastructure and economic cooperation.
During his day visit, Dar is also scheduled to meet with the Interim Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi, and will resort to the country’s interim prime minister. Conversations are expected to cover bilateral relations, regional connectivity and broader international developments.
Previously in a phone call last month, Dar and Muttaqi reaffirmed their commitment to the UAP rail project and described it as a key to unlock regional connectivity. They also agreed to accelerate the work in the project frame agreement.
Muttaqi welcomed Pakistan’s movement to raise diplomatic relations with Kabul and said Afghanistan would correspond, qualifying the decision as a “positive development” in the reconstruction of bilateral trust.
