A feasibility study of the trans-Afghan railway is due to be ready early next year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk said at the 16th international economic forum Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum 2025.

“Russian and Uzbek railway specialists are drafting the feasibility study of the trans-Afghan railway construction project together. We are expecting the project feasibility study to be ready in early 2026 so that decisions on its implementation could be made,” Overchuk said, Interfax reported.

The trans-Afghan transport corridor will connect to the European Union, Russia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Southeast Asia. Uzbekistan said in 2023 it had reached an agreement with a number of countries to implement the project, key participants in which, besides Uzbekistan, would be Afghanistan and Pakistan. A preliminary agreement on Russia’s participation in the project was reached in early April 2024, during Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s visit to Moscow.

Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan signed an agreement in February 2021 to construct a 573-kilometer railway line through Afghanistan, connecting landlocked Central Asia to Pakistan seaports.

The Uzbek Transport Ministry said earlier it would take at least five years to build the trans-Afghan railway, the tentative cost of which might reach $4.8 billion.

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov told Interfax in April that roughly 8 million to 15 million tonnes of Russian cargo might be annually transported by the prospective trans-Afghan railway.

Russian Special Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov has said that Moscow is considering the issue of the Islamic Emirate nominating a diplomat for the post of Afghan ambassador to Moscow.

Kabulov said this on the sidelines of an international economic forum in Russia, TASS news agency reported.

Earlier, Russia’s Supreme Court made a decision to suspend the ban on the activities of the Islamic Emirate by the Russian side.

The decision has enhanced conditions for trade and economic relations between the two countries, Afghanistan’s Charge d’Affaires in Moscow Jamal Nasir Garwal said.

“Our trade and economic cooperation was not so successful because the Taliban used to be blacklisted in Russia. Fortunately, after the Supreme Court’s decision, this problem was resolved. This opened up better conditions for developing our cooperation,” the diplomat said at the 16th International Economic Forum Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum.

Garwal expressed hope that Russia and Afghanistan will soon sign investment agreements in geological exploration and mineral resource extraction.

In a significant development for regional energy cooperation, several agreements were signed to expedite the implementation of the CASA-1000 power transmission project.

The accords were inked during a high-level meeting in Tajikistan between energy officials from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and representatives of Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), Afghanistan’s national power utility.

According to a statement posted on X, the agreements are aimed at accelerating the pace of construction and coordination required for the successful operation of the CASA-1000 project — a major regional initiative linking Central and South Asia through electricity trade.

Abdul Bari Omar, CEO of DABS, highlighted the positive developments in Afghanistan that have paved the way for advancing the project.

“I believe Afghanistan’s current unprecedented security, its centralized transparent and accountable government and the leadership’s firm commitment have created an excellent opportunity for us to successfully implement the CASA-1000 project together,” he said in the meeting.

What is CASA-1000?

The Central Asia–South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project, known as CASA-1000, is a landmark regional initiative designed to export surplus hydropower from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to energy-deficient markets in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Once completed, the project will enable the annual transmission of up to 1,300 megawatts of electricity during the summer months.

The project involves the construction of over 1,200 kilometers of high-voltage transmission lines — including approximately 560 kilometers across Afghan territory — making Afghanistan a key transit country and beneficiary of the energy trade.

Originally launched in 2016 with support from the World Bank and other international donors, CASA-1000 has faced repeated delays due to political instability and security challenges in the region, particularly in Afghanistan.