On February 10 this year, the first freight train was sent from China to Afghanistan via a new direct rail route connecting the two countries through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The train, carrying 55 containers of communication equipment manufactured by the Chinese telecommunications concern ZTE, departed from Chongqing’s Tuanjetsun station to Afghanistan’s Hairaton.
The train will cross the border at the Khorgos checkpoint in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and reach its destination in Khairaton via Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
The entire journey is expected to take 12-15 days. “By using the direct rail freight transportation scheme, transportation time will be reduced by 3-5 days compared to road transportation, and logistics costs are expected to be reduced by 15-20%. This will strengthen the safety and efficiency of transportation and supply of goods,” said Liu Jianfeng, a ZTE employee.
The opening of the direct freight route will further strengthen trade and economic cooperation and exchanges between Chongqing and Afghanistan, as well as with other Central Asian countries.
Active Group and Experts Club have conducted a joint study on the attitudes of Ukrainians towards the countries of East Asia and the Middle East. The research was presented at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency in June 2024. The research was presented by Maksym Urakin and Oleksandr Poznyi. The results of the study are as follows:
The results of the survey are as follows:
Completely positive – 2.9%.
Mostly positive – 10.3
Mostly negative – 30.1 %.
Completely negative – 22.5
Difficult to answer – 34.2%.
Positive – Negative – 39.5
On March 17, 1992, Ukraine and Afghanistan established diplomatic relations.
The joint research by Active Group and Experts Club on the attitudes of Ukrainians towards the countries of East Asia and the Middle East was conducted in April-May 2024. It covers such countries as Turkey, Iran, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia, India, China, Republic of Korea, DPRK, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Syria, and Iraq. Full information on the research is available on the website of the Club of Experts at
Strong earthquakes struck western Afghanistan on October 7, leaving at least 2,060 people dead, the Associated Press reports.
“The death toll from the powerful earthquakes that rocked western Afghanistan has risen to more than 2,000, a Taliban government spokesman said on Sunday. “This is one of the deadliest earthquakes to hit the country in two decades,” the official said in a statement on Sunday.
The powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake was accompanied by strong aftershocks. Approximately six villages were destroyed and hundreds of civilians were buried under the rubble, an Afghan official said.
Initially, several hundred deaths were reported, but now the number has risen to 2,060, according to official figures.
The UN expects the death toll to rise as search and rescue operations continue and there are reports that some people may have been trapped in the rubble.
The earthquake destroyed 465 buildings and damaged another 135.
The epicenter of the earthquake was located about 40 kilometers northwest of the Afghan city of Herat. It was followed by three very strong aftershocks, as well as weaker tremors.
About 130 Ukrainian citizens want to return home from Afghanistan at the present time, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.
“Now about 130 citizens want to return. We are developing safe exit routes. We do not abandon our people in trouble abroad and have already proved this many times. They also leave on their own. In a month, more than 30 citizens and their family members left Afghanistan on their own,” Kuleba wrote on his page on Twitter on Tuesday.
A plane from Afghanistan, sent to evacuate Ukrainian citizens and their families, has landed at the Boryspil international airport, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reports.
“Ukraine does not leave its citizens alone, no matter where they are,” said Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Malyar when meeting the plane at the airport.
There are 96 people on board, including citizens of Ukraine, as well as persons with a permanent residence permit in Ukraine, members of their families, persons whose return was requested by the Vatican and Canada.
Malyar noted that Ukraine will continue to provide assistance to its citizens and citizens of other countries in the future.
There are 159 Ukrainian citizens in Afghanistan who have stated their willingness to return home, work is underway on the next evacuation flights, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.
“According to our information, there are now 159 Ukrainian citizens in Afghanistan who have stated their willingness to return home. We work through our embassies in Tajikistan, Pakistan and Iran, as well as through the embassies of certain friendly countries that also have ties to the Taliban here in Ukraine, in order to organize the next evacuation flights,” Kuleba said at an online briefing on Thursday.
