KABUL - President Ashraf Ghani has said Afghanistan has the potential for regional connectivity and sustainable transport development.
The president said this while addressing Global Sustainable Transport Conference in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, a statement from the Presidential Palace here said.
The conference in Turkmenistan was organized under the leadership of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and attended by a number of heads of states including Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The president thanked the Turkmenistan leadership for successfully organizing the conference and warm hospitality.
President Ghani said they had gathered in Ashgabat to further insist on cooperation and work jointly.
He said investment in peace and transport could transform war zones into cooperation zones.
He said Turkmenistan after 2014 had taken practical steps on major policy decisions regarding development.
The president said the inauguration of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan railroad had opened a new window for change.
Ghani said developing economies needed overhauling of their transport infrastructure and integrated economies should invest in sustainable transport.
He said over the next 20 years, the world needed an estimated $40 trillion to $60 trillion investment in the transport sector --- the world’s huge investment.
He said for developed countries the key top was transport and its process, design, work, preservation and sustainability required huge transformation.
The president said reaching the goal of sustainable transport needed serious and fundamental focus.
“We should realize that we are in sensitive and important phase of world’s communications and the UN particularly understands its importance.”
He said developing countries should also make preparations for embracing sustainable transport.
He said Afghanistan had the potential for regional connectivity and the development of sustainable transport and his country was a place for cooperation and initiatives in various fields in the region and beyond.
He said Afghanistan was located in the heart of Asia as it connected central and south Asia.
He said Turkmenistan had taken beneficial steps regarding regional cooperation and Uzbekistan had also initiated the same and similarly Afghanistan reached China and such steps helped open clogged veins. (Pajhwok)