President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday met with his Turkmen and Tajik counterparts and discussed expanding trade relations and the construction of a railway line linking the three countries.

Ghani had been in Ashgabat for the opening ceremony of the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.

According to the president’s deputy spokesman Dawa Khan Menapal trade between Central Asian countries and Afghanistan has increased significantly in recent months and that this upward trend can continue with the right infrastructure in place.

Menapal said Ghani met with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow and Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon on Sunday and discussed the expansion of trade relations. They also discussed the construction of a railway line that will link Central Asian countries with Afghanistan and Iran.

“The president’s meeting with the Turkmenistan and Tajikistan presidents focused on trade relations, because we count on our trade relations with Central Asia. The Central Asian countries will be connected to Iran through a railway that will go through Afghanistan,” said Menapal.

A number of economic analysts meanwhile said transit routes between Central Asian countries and Afghanistan are extremely important and that with this in place, Afghanistan could easily be linked to Europe and other foreign markets.

“Central Asia is a rich region in terms of natural energy and Afghanistan can benefit from these countries by following proper approaches,” economic analyst Shabir Bashiri said.

The expansion of trade relations with Central Asian countries, especially Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, were the focus of the agenda for the meeting between the three presidents, Menapal said.