Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has approved an agreement to prepare a technical and economic feasibility study (TEF) for the construction of the Trans-Afghan Railway.

The intergovernmental framework agreement was signed among Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Transport, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Works, and Pakistan’s Ministry of Railways, The Caspian Post reports via Uzbek media.

The project focuses on developing a new railway line connecting Naibabad in Uzbekistan to Harlachi in Afghanistan. The agreement was signed in Kabul on July 17, 2025.

Under the decree, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Transport is designated as the responsible authority for implementing the agreement. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is tasked with notifying Afghanistan and Pakistan of the completion of domestic procedures to bring the agreement into force and appointing a competent authority.

The Cabinet of Ministers and relevant agencies are instructed to monitor the implementation of the agreement once it takes effect. Oversight of the decree’s execution is assigned to Uzbekistan’s Prime Minister, Abdulla Aripov.