On the 3rd of March, 2024, the Afghan delegation led by Acting Minister of Industry and Trade Alhaj Nuruddin Azizi visited the international seaport of Turkmenbashy. During the visit, the guests got acquainted with the capabilities of the port's terminals, which serves as the sea gateway to Central Asia. Members of the Afghan delegation were told about the advantages of the «customs storage» regime for transit cargo. The created opportunity to export goods in transit to third parties without customs duties for up to 3 years in accordance with «customs storage» was discussed in detail.

The guests were particularly interested in the possibility and conditions of storing export vegetables and dried fruits in refrigerated containers at the terminal warehouse. During the visit, the guests were also acquainted with the technical equipment and capabilities of the «Balkan» shipbuilding and ship repair plant and the work carried out on the ships being repaired.

At the end of the visit to the port, the head of the Afghan delegation highly appreciated the work done to develop the maritime transport infrastructure of Turkmenistan. The Turkmenbashy International Seaport is a key link in the Lapis-Lazuli Corridor, a transit project between Türkiye, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. For Afghanistan, this is the shortest, cheapest and most reliable trade route with Europe.

The intensification of Turkmen-Afghan transport cooperation, including the development of the (Lapis Lazuli Corridor), was discussed at the Turkmen-Afghan negotiations in Ashgabat on the 26th of February, 2024.