Uzbekistan begins using new Pakistan trade corridors via Iran, China

Uzbekistan has started using new overland trade corridors established by Pakistan through Iran and China, creating alternative routes to Pakistani seaports that bypass Afghanistan.

Tashkent has already used the route through the Gabd-Rimdan border crossing on the Iran-Pakistan border to transport agricultural machinery and industrial raw materials, Uzbek media reports.

The new transport corridors, launched in April 2026, were introduced after Pakistan indefinitely closed its main border crossings with Afghanistan at Torham and Chaman in October 2025 due to security concerns.

In addition to the route through Iran, Pakistan has opened a corridor via the Sost dry port on its border with China, providing Central Asian countries with new access to Pakistani ports and international markets.

More than 14,000 metric tonnes of cargo have been transported through the two routes so far, according to the report.

One of the transport corridors was officially launched at a ceremony in Karachi attended by senior representatives from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

The new transport network is designed to expand the use of the TIR international transit system and the "Single Window" electronic customs platform, while strengthening the role of Pakistan's deep-water port of Gwadar under the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The port is expected to handle increasing freight volumes carried along the new overland routes.

By Sabimna Mammadli