DUSHANBE, June 5, 2013, Asia-Plus  -- Tajik President Emomali Rahmon today morning left for Ashgabat, Turkmenistan for participation in an official ceremony of commencement of the construction of a rail link connecting Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.

According to the Tajik president’s official website, Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi, State Advisor to the President for Foreign Policy Erkin Rahmatulloyev and Minister of Transport Nizom Hakimov are accompanying President Rahmon on his trip to Turkmenistan.

A groundbreaking ceremony for construction of the Atamurat-Ymamnazar-Akina section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railroad is taking place today and the presidents of the three countries are attending the ceremony.

While in Turkmenistan, President Rahmon is also scheduled to attend a ceremony of an official opening of the Garlyk settlement in Lebap velayat (province).

We will recall that a trilateral meeting of the presidents of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan took place in Ashgabat on March 20 on the sidelines of the International Navrouz Celebrations.

Emomali Rahmon (Tajikistan), Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov (Turkmenistan) and Hamid Karzai (Afghanistan) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for construction of the rail link connecting the three countries.

The 400-kilometer railroad is expected to connect the Afghan town of Akina-Andkhoy to Atamurat-Ymamnazar in Turkmenistan and Panj in Tajikistan.

Construction is planned to begin in July in Turkmenistan.  Turkmen workers are also to build the Afghan section of the railway.

The construction work is scheduled to be finished by 2015.  The railway link will play an important role in strengthening the economies of the countries and peoples in the region.

China, Iran and Kyrgyzstan are expected to join this ambitious project.

The first meeting of the Joint Coordination Working Group for the practical implementation of the MoU between Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan for the railway construction project took place in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on April 18.  The delegations of the three countries discussed a number of specific issues related to the prospects of implementation of the project aimed at construction of the Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Turkmenistan railway.