President Ghani on his visit to Herat on Thursday inaugurated the Lapis Lazuli route.
In his address at the inauguration ceremony, he said “17 years ago, Afghanistan was isolated, 4 years ago, we were being warned of hunger if borders were closed, today we are connected”.
He also clarified that Afghanistan is in favour of a policy of being connected with the world and of Afghanistan being a liberal economy in that respect. He called the inauguration of the Lapis Lazuli route, a “milestone”.
President Ghani also expressed his gratitude to international partners, saying he is grateful to them for making the project possible.
He added that now, Afghan cargo can reach European markets in a very short time.
He also believes that this new route demonstrates that the northern countries and neighbours have confidence and faith in the future of Afghanistan saying “Now it’s the turn of the Afghan traders to make their contribution to this big project with investment and business”.
