PRESS RELEASE
BRICS Nations Push Development To Enhance Security
Nov 5, 2014 (EIRNS)—The leading BRICS nation, China, has unfolded further plans to counter insecurity that haunts Central Asia by proposing a transport corridor through Afghanistan’s Wakhan corridor linking China’s Xinjiang with the central part of Afghanistan.
Located between the frozen Kunlun mountains in the west and the high Hindu Kush mountain range on its east, Wakhan corridor is similar to Tundra land. The area is inhabited by small bands of Kyrgyz nomads. However, it is also the only direct land connection between Afghanistan and China. Recently, Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) said that construction of a short and inexpensive trade and transit route between China and Afghanistan is something both countries have agreed to and plan to implement in the near future. According to the ACCI, a tentative agreement was made between the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the Chinese government to build the route as part of their broader new initiative to increase trade and diplomatic relations, which was launched during Ghani’s trip to Beijing over a week ago. The Afghan delegation that visited China with Ghani included 27 representatives of the private sector.
In addition, China Railway Corporation (CRC) announced today the inauguration of a high-speed rail line connecting Urumqi,capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and the region’s Hami Prefecture. The railroad will begin operation on Nov. 16. Bullet trains will run at a speed of about 200 kilometers per hour at the early stage of the operation. Travel time between Urumqi and Hami will be reduced from the current five hours to around three hours.
