Railway transport is the most important strategic sector of Tajikistan, Tajik Transport Minister Azim Ibrohim said on May 17 at the session “Development of International Transport Corridors Passing through the Countries of Asia and the Middle East” at the 15th International Economic Forum “Russia -- Islamic World: KazanForum 20204”, which took place in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s Tatarstan Republic, on May 14-19.  

The press center of the Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan (MoT) says Mr. Ibrohim noted that the railway transport plays an important role in meeting the needs of the country’s economy and population. 

According to him, the proportion of cargo shipments by the railway transport in the overall amount of shipments is more than 70 percent.  

Tajik transport minister further noted that Tajik government plans to channel about 75.5 million US dollars to implementation of more than ten projects aimed at developing the country’s railway sector.  

Mr. Ibrohim also noted that a special attention is paid to development of economic and transport multimodal corridors connecting the countries of South-East Asia with countries of Central Asia, Russia, Iran, Turkiye and further with European countries, which provide access to seaports. 

“Besides, an active work is underway to effectively use the Tajikistan-Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Turkiye corridor, which provides the shortest route from China’s border through territories of Tajikistan and the abovementioned countries and promotes regional economic integration,” Ibrohim said, noting that this corridor connects China with countries in the North-South Corridor (NSC). 

Tajik minister emphasized that the North-South Corridor ensures the development of uninterrupted, timely and efficient movement of goods between the countries of the region.  

“Realizing the importance of this route, Tajikistan in 2024 decided to join it,” Azim Ibrohim added.