Afghanistan stakeholders have said that with improved security in the country since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) takeover, the country is now more than ready to be included in major regional projects, including China’s “One Belt One Road” initiative.

The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), is part of the One Belt One Road or New Silk Road initiative, which includes a land trade route from China to Pakistan’s Gwadar port.

The project includes two highways, two railway lines and a major hydroelectricity dam on the Kunar River.

The idea is to lay a road linking Pakistan’s Peshawar to Kabul and also to Kunduz and then further into Central Asia. Railway lines are expected to run from Landi-Kotal in Pakistan to Afghanistan’s Jalalabad, and also from Pakistan’s Chaman to Spin Boldak in Afghanistan.

China’s economic growth in previous years has made the countries participating in the One Belt One Road initiative optimistic and perceive the project to be comparable to China’s development of Shenzhen city, which conceptualized in 1980, has since grown into a metropolis in less than 30 years with a population of ten million.

Now, analysts are hoping Afghanistan will become part of another key undertaking by China – the One Belt One Road initiative.

“If this project (One Belt One Road) was not done through Afghanistan, I don’t think that the project would be very successful; if Afghanistan was not included, if this road passes through other routes, naturally, Afghanistan will not be a connecting point, and people’s perception will be that Afghanistan is not a connecting point but a season point,” said Imam Mohammad Warimach, former deputy minister of transport for Afghanistan.

The One Belt One Road is expected to start from the city of Xi An, in China and cross many Asian countries to Europe and Africa.

Afghan experts believe that China has adopted a new economy-oriented policy on Afghanistan.

“The government of Afghanistan and the continuous security crisis in this country have not given us the opportunity to have a proper awareness of the One Belt One Road Initiative, but China, as a close neighbor of Afghanistan, is trying to bring this country into an international economic cycle,” said Nazir Kabiri, researcher at Biruni Institute, a research organization in Kabul.

The One Belt One Road initiative will reportedly cover 65 countries – home to about 60% of the world’s population – and the cost of which will be about $4 trillion across 900 different projects.

“China is the world champion in the infrastructure sector, strong infrastructure has been built in China, which has a very high capacity, many raw materials are not needed in China and this is a unique opportunity for the Chinese to export them,” said Sebastian Heilmann founding director of the Mercator Institute for China Studies.

Considering the economic problems that Afghanistan is facing, Afghan experts believe that the country should be included in China’s One Belt One Road initiative, as it will help accelerate the construction of infrastructure, gain geographical advantages, and turn Afghanistan into an economically developed country.

In addition, while Afghanistan contends with an economic crisis, no country has yet recognized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) government. However, the IEA is trying to overcome problems by focusing on infrastructure and economic development projects as well as establishing strong ties with foreign countries, analysts have said.

Baradar meets with envoy

This comes after Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, met with China’s Ambassador to Kabul Wang Yu on Wednesday and called on Beijing to include Afghanistan in the “One Belt One Road” initiative.

According to a statement released by Baradar’s office, the focus of the meeting was on the implementation of key economic projects that have been agreed upon by the two countries.

Meanwhile, Wang stated that his country “wants to deepen its ties with Afghanistan and supports the new government in any situation.”