Uzbekistan, a double-landlocked country with almost 35 million people, has been actively promoting the South and Central Asia rail link that will go through its war-torn neighbour Afghanistan, giving it access to the ports of Karachi, Gwadar and Qasim.

Samarkand’s rich history, architecture, and culture earned it a place on UNESCO’s World Heritage List as ‘Samarkand – Crossroads of Cultures’ in 2001.