The Ministry of Economy (MoE) on Sunday said China and India have agreed to implement joint development projects in Afghanistan and that a railway line between Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran and China is one of these projects. 

MoE officials said Indian’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping made the decision during their two-day summit in China that wrapped up on Saturday. 

Although no details have been released about the joint projects the economic ministry said the railway line between Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran and China is one of the projects. 

The ministry’s spokesman Suhrab Bahman said China is interested in giving Afghanistan more share in the “Belt and Road” project – which will connect China with Central Asia. 

“The Afghan government has lots of plans and if India and China invest in these plans, it will be very important for the region. One of these projects is the implementation of the railway project that involves five countries in the region,” said Bahman. 

In the meantime, Qader Shah, spokesman for the president’s National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar, said during his last visit to China, the NSA invited Chinese officials to send a delegation to Afghanistan in order to expand economic ties. 

“The National Security Adviser in his meeting with Chinese officials invited them to send a delegation to Afghanistan to help us in resolving a number of problems that exist in mining projects such as Mes Aynak and Amu Darya Oil Zone,” Qader Shah said. 

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a development strategy proposed by the Chinese government that focuses on connectivity and cooperation between Eurasian countries.

The Chinese government calls the initiative "a bid to enhance regional connectivity and embrace a brighter future.”