Transit processes on the southern network of the Great Silk Road: past and future

We know that in the historical period of long millennia, Uzbekistan has established intense relations through international trade routes. The southern regions of Central Asia, in particular, the regions of Northern Khorasan (Southern Turkmenistan), Tokharistan (Northern Afghanistan, Southern Uzbekistan, and Southern Tajikistan), and Khotan (Eastern Turkestan), due to their geographical location, are located in the crossroads of trade destinations on the Great Silk Road. centuries, it was located along the "Southern branch", an ancient and important route of this trade route. At the same time, a number of cities in the land of Sughd, in particular, Southern Sughd, were integrally connected with this network, and Sughd merchants played an important role in the Silk Road trade [1:105-109].

The southern and northern branches of the Great Silk Road were connected for many centuries and provided cultural cooperation between different peoples, while the status of the southern branch was high until the early Middle Ages, while the development of the northern branch accelerated during the period of the Turkish khanate.

The Chinese monk Xuanzang, who came to Tochariston in 629, describes this place as follows: "The right and left sides of Tie-men (Iron Gate) are adjacent to the mountain. ”[8:35]. From this information, it is known that the Iron Gate served as a customs office at that time and was one of the main stops for trade caravans moving from Tokhariston to Sughd and from there along the Northern branch of the Great Silk Road, or from Sughd to the Southern branch leading to India and Iran. Thus, trade and cultural relations developed on the southern branch of the Great Silk Road.

Rapid growth of interregional economic relations due to the rapid development of globalization requires further development of transport services.

The head of our state ShavkatMirziyoev from the first days of his work as president, taken into account the importance and urgency of developing Central Asia as a single region, conducting an active regional policy, creating a favorable political environment in Central Asia, cooperating with countries in the region in all directions, including the transport sector, which is one of the priority sectors of Uzbekistan's foreign policy. established the tasks of establishing constructive and mutually beneficial relations. In our country, special attention is being paid to the issues of further development of transport infrastructure and increase of transit cargo volume. In 2015-2019, the program of development and modernization of engineering-communication and road transport infrastructure was implemented in Uzbekistan. According to the program, a comprehensive strategy was developed in the field of development of the national transport network that meets international requirements and standards, and it was intended to ensure the wide integration of this strategy into the international transport system, taking into account the export of the products of local manufacturers to the regional and world markets. It is no exaggeration to say that the issue of further development of the transport sector by 2020 has become an important area of our state's policy. It should be noted that today all necessary conditions are being created for the further development of transport-transit potential in our country. Work is being carried out to increase the transport capacity of the transport system, and to eliminate the existing obstacles to transit through the territory of Uzbekistan, which is of great importance in the development of international transport corridors in Central Asia.

On September 15-16 of this year, the 22nd summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was held in the ancient and modern city of Samarkand. Historical documents for the transport system of Uzbekistan were signed within the framework of this summit. On September 14, within the framework of the SCO Samarkand summit, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Kyrgyzstan, and the State Committee for Development and Reform of China signed a tripartite agreement on cooperation on the project of the construction of the "Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China" railway (on the territory of Kyrgyzstan). This project, which has been under discussion for almost 20 years, will serve to expand transportation from China to Europe through Uzbekistan and to the countries of the Persian Gulf via the southern routes.Now, in order to develop the "China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan-Afghanistan" multimodal corridor, the testing of the freight train along the new transit route "Kashgar-Osh-Andijan-Galaba-Khayraton" has started. Thecargo includes food, household appliances, and household goods.

Freight transportation along the new multimodal corridor "China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan-Afghanistan" will be carried out from Kashgar railway station (China) to Osh railway station (Kyrgyzstan) by road, and then through Uzbekistan to Mazori Sharif station. This, in turn, means that the cargo turnover on the Afghanistan route alone is more than 4,000 containers per year.

Significant work is being done to provide convenient transportation services to the population in the capital Tashkent and all regional administrative centers. Taking into account the flow of passengers and traffic in our capital, the Chilonzor, Uzbek, and Yunusobot underground metros, which have a total length of 40 kilometers and consist of 31 stations, provide quality service to the population. The total length of the surface metro lines that have been launched now is 59 kilometers. In the near future, the construction of the above-ground metro line will connect the city of Tashkent. On the one hand, this will increase the efficiency of transport services to passengers, and on the other hand, it will ensure the creation of many new jobs.

On May 4, 2020, to train highly qualified personnel for the republic's transport sector, fundamentally improve the system based on advanced foreign experience and international standards, introduce innovative methods of teaching and information technologies into the educational process, and further increase the scientific potential of the sector, on May 4, 2020, the President of our country "Training personnel in the field of transport" According to the Decision "On measures to improve the system", the Tashkent State Transport University was established based on the Tashkent Institute of Railway Engineers, the Tashkent Institute of Design, Construction, and Operation of Highways and the Faculty of Aerospace Technologies of the Tashkent State Technical University. In a short time, the total number of students at the Tashkent State Transport University reached 18 thousand. Studying is carried out in full-time, part-time, and remote forms. Most of the graduates received job referrals to enterprises and organizations under the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan.The priority tasks of training qualified personnel for the transport system in our country have been clearly defined by the President in the fourth priority direction of the Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026, the 36th goal.