Courtesy of The Financial Times, a report on the Asian Development Bank’s interest in raising $1bn to expand a newly-completed stretch of railway in Afghanistan into a countrywide network to export iron ore and copper to global markets. As the article notes: “…Afghanistan is due to open the 75-km link between the northern city of […]
Read more »Via the BBC, a report that a consortium of Indian companies has won the right to develop some of Afghanistan’s large iron ore deposits. As the article notes: “Seven Indian companies, led by the state-owned Steel Authority of India, won a $10.3bn (£6.6bn) deal to mine three sites in central Afghanistan. A fourth site was […]
Read more »Courtesy of James Brooke, an interesting look at the geopolitics of Central Asia: When I was in Dushanbe, India’s defense minister just happened to be in the neighborhood, and popped in for a visit. After the traditional bread and honey welcome ceremony at the airport, he met behind closed doors with Tajikistan’s defense minister and […]
Read more »Via the Khaleej Times, an updated report on the Turkmenistan-Afghan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. As the article notes: Turkmenistan-Afghan-Pakistan-India transnational gas pipeline, or TAPI, took a good step forward as Ashkabad and Islamabad have agreed on the illusive pricing formula and have vowed to complete it in the shortest possible time. Pakistan and Turkmenistan, at the […]
Read more »Via The Hindustan Times, a report that India is planning a rail linkage of Iran and Afghanistan: “…In a bold move to assert itself in the Af-Pak region and reduce Pakistan’s room for manoeuvre, India is finalising a plan to construct a 900-km railway line that will connect Chabahar port in Iran, being built with […]
Read more »Via Foreign Policy, an interesting article on China’s economic interests in Afghanistan which, so far, have not been mirrored by any security investments. As the report notes: “…As we pass the 10-year anniversary of the US-led war in Afghanistan, most attention has been focused on how much longer the United States intends to stay in […]
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