Business
IEA to complete Afghan-Uzbek-Pak railway line

Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA) officials said Thursday preliminary work on finishing the railway project between Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan (Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway) has started.
Speaking at a news conference on Thursday in Kabul, ARA officials said that joint technical teams have started work and are half way through the initial phase.
“Inshallah we finish this project it may not only ensure the economy of Afghanistan but also guarantee the country’s security,” said Bakht Rehman Sharafat, General Director of the Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA).
At the same time, ARA said that revenue from the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan railway line, which previously went to Uzbekistan, will now come to ARA.
“Afghanistan’s railway revenue was previously collected in Uzbekistan and then this country passed it on to Afghanistan but after the Islamic Emirate’s takeover we weren’t able to receive the revenue from Uzbekistan due to banking system crisis,” Sharafat said.
“Now, Afghanistan’s $12.5 million is with Uzbekistan which has not delivered it to the country yet.”
The railway line will connect the Trans-Corridor of Central Asia to Pakistan by the shortest route and will also provide an opportunity for South Asian countries to enter the markets of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Europe.
However, the railway administration has prioritized its plans and prioritized the projects where work is half finished or almost complete.
According to ARA, since the beginning of this year, more than three and a half million tons of goods have been transported using the existing line.
Business
Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan rise by over 64% in 9 months
Overall exports to Afghanistan were recorded at $623.285 million during July-March (FY2024-25) against exports of $378.922 million during the same period last year.

Pakistan has reported that its export of goods and services to Afghanistan witnessed an increase of 64.48 percent during the first nine months of the fiscal year (2024-25) as compared to the exports of the corresponding period of last year.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the overall exports to Afghanistan were recorded at $623.285 million during July-March (FY2024-25) against exports of $378.922 million during the same period last year.
On a year-on-year basis, the exports to Afghanistan decreased by 45.54 percent from $55.907 million in March 2024, against the exports of $30.445 million in March 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, the exports to Afghanistan also dipped by 15.37 percent during March 2025 as compared to the exports of $35.977 million in February 2025, the SBP data revealed.
On the other hand, the imports from Afghanistan into the country during the months under review were recorded at $20.127 million against $6.438 million last year, showing an increase of 212.62 percent in July-March (2024-25).
On a year-on-year basis, the imports from Afghanistan witnessed an increase of 99.79 percent, going up from $0.960 million in March 2024 against the imports of $1.918 million in March 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, the imports from Afghanistan into the country also witnessed a decrease of 36.23 percent during March 2025, as compared to the imports of $3.008m during February 2025, according to the data.
Business
Chinese company keen to invest $50 million in automobile industry in Afghanistan

Chinese automobile company Dongfeng has expressed an interest to invest $50 million in Afghanistan.
A representative of the company said in a meeting with Ahmadullah Zahid, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, that the company wants to invest $50 million in the automobile manufacturing sector in Afghanistan in four phases over a period of three and a half years.
He added that with this investment, 2,000 vehicles will be manufactured per year.
Welcoming the company’s interest in investing in the country Ahmadullah Zahid, the Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, described Afghanistan as one of the safe and secure places for investment with favorable profits.
He assured the Chinese that all domestic and foreign investors will be treated equally and will be fully supported.
In the meeting, the representative of Dongfeng also emphasized that the company’s investment in Afghanistan will create jobs for 500 to 700 people in the country.
He said that the company’s products will include cars, trucks, ambulances, and buses.
Business
Kyrgyzstan exports 25 million liters of petrol to Afghanistan in 2 months
The gasoline, worth $11.5 million, was exported to Afghanistan during January and February this year

Kyrgyzstan has in two months exported 24.9 million liters of gasoline to Afghanistan, the Kyrgyz National Statistics Committee said Monday.
According to local media, the gasoline, worth $11.5 million, was exported during January and February this year.
Exports of gasoline to Afghanistan have been steadily rising over the past two years.
In the first six months of last year, 700 liters went to Afghanistan, against just 19 liters in the same period in 2023.
Overall trade between the two countries also saw a steady increase after the Kyrgyz government removed the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) from their list of banned organizations in September last year.
Afghanistan is now the main consumer of Kyrgyz motor gasoline, accounting for about 92 percent of all exports of this fuel.
While Afghanistan has its own oil and gas reserves, particularly in the Amu Darya basin, it relies heavily on imports, especially from Central Asian countries and Iran, to meet its energy needs.
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