In the Afghan province of Herat, interdepartmental consultations were held between the delegations of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, dedicated to simplifying cross-border cargo transportation and expanding logistics infrastructure. Representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs, trade, transport and railway departments of the two countries discussed the removal of administrative barriers and optimization of the delivery of goods, Orient.tm reported.
The central topics of the negotiations were the simplification of the visa regime for drivers and entrepreneurs, the development of border terminals and the railway line to Herat. The parties paid special attention to the relaunch of the Lapis Lazuli multimodal route, connecting Afghanistan through Turkmenistan and the Caspian basin with the markets of Turkey and Europe.
The negotiations reflect Ashgabat’s course towards the pragmatic involvement of Kabul in regional economic processes. For Afghanistan, strengthening the status of Herat province as a logistics hub is a key tool to overcome isolation and gradually transform the country into a transit bridge between Central and South Asia.
In turn, Turkmenistan, by reducing transport downtime at the border, increases the load on its own port facilities in Turkmenbashi and railway networks. This systematically strengthens Ashgabat’s position as an indispensable transit and logistics hub at the crossroads of the East-West and North-South international corridors.
CentralAsianLIGHT.org
September 22, 2026