US, Afghanistan, Pakistan & Uzbekistan To Form Quad Group With Aim Of Enhancing Regional Connectivity

The establishment of the new quad group is critical given China's intention to expand its Belt Road Initiative (BRI) to Afghanistan which can serve as a strategic platform to spread its influence.

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New Delhi: According to the Biden administration, the United States, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan have come to an agreement in principle to build a new quadrilateral diplomatic platform aimed at improving regional connectivity. 

According to the State Department, the parties believe that long-term peace and stability in Afghanistan is essential for regional connection, and that peace and regional connectivity is mutually supportive. 

The parties want to collaborate to boost trade, create transit links, and strengthen business-to-business ties, it added, acknowledging the historic potential to open booming interregional trade lines. 

As per the State Department, the parties have planned to meet in the coming months to define the mechanisms of this collaboration by mutual consent. 

For a long time, Afghanistan's strategic location was regarded as a competitive advantage. 

Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan to the north and China to the northeast, define Afghanistan's borders. 

Afghanistan, which is in the centre of the historic Silk Road, has long served as a crossroads for trade between Asian countries, linking them to Europe and establishing religious, cultural, and commercial ties. 

The establishment of the new quad group is critical given China's intention to expand its Belt Road Initiative (BRI) to Afghanistan. 

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a multibillion-dollar initiative established by Chinese President Xi Jinping when he took office in 2013, intends to create a network of land and maritime connections connecting Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf area, Africa, and Europe. 

Afghanistan can serve as a strategic platform for China to spread its influence over the world due to its geographic location. 

Since the announcement of the US troop pullout ultimatum of August 31, violence has increased, and efforts to mediate a peace deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban insurgents have halted.