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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 000231 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DIA PASS TO DHO2 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  2/26/2019 
TAGS: MAS MCAP OVIP PGOV PREL AF TI
SUBJECT: USTRANSCOM MEETINGS WITH TAJIK OFFICIALS ON NORTHERN 
DISTRIBUTION NETWORK 
 
REF: DUSHANBE 103 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Tracey A. Jacobson, Ambassador, EXEC, DOS. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
¶1. (C) Summary: Following up on General Petraeus's Northern 
Distribution Network (NDN) discussions with President Rahmon in 
January (Ref A), Rear Admiral Mark Harnitchek, USTRANSCOM 
Director of Strategy, Policy, and Logistics, met with 
Tajikistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hamrohon Zarifi, 
Minister of Transportation and Communications Abdurahim Ashur, 
Chief of the State Committee for National Security Khayridin 
Abdurahimov, and Head of the Customs Service Gurez Zaripov on 
February 20, 2009, to discuss using Tajikistan territory for the 
transit of non-lethal cargo via commercial means to support 
troops in Afghanistan.  U.S. Ambassador Tracey Jacobson attended 
the first two meetings with RADM Harnitchek, and DCM Necia Quast 
the second two.  In all the meetings, Tajik officials expressed 
full support for the proposal and promised their cooperation. 
They asked for the United States to consider building a second 
bridge to Afghanistan at Kokul, and to develop other 
transportation infrastructure and facilities.  End summary. 
 
 
 
¶2. (C) Minister of Foreign Affairs Zarifi expressed support for 
the use of Tajikistan's territory for the transit of cargo, 
citing the common goal of stabilizing Afghanistan.  He proposed 
Kolkhozobad and Kulyob as primary nodes, pointing out their 
proximity to the Afghan border, but acknowledged that neither 
site currently had the necessary infrastructure to do 
rail-to-road transloading.  He suggested that the United States 
could assist in developing an intermodal terminal closer to the 
border.  The Ambassador emphasized the importance of getting 
cargo transit underway as soon as possible, suggesting use of 
the existing facilities at Kurgan Teppe, before considering 
other locations that would require substantial development. 
Minister Zarifi agreed but reiterated keen interest in the 
stability of Afghanistan and the importance of looking at 
developing the other alternatives as well.  With regard to 
relations with Uzbekistan, he assured RADM Harnitchek that cargo 
transit would not be a problem.  No final agreement was reached 
at the meeting.  Minister Zarifi accepted a draft U.S. 
diplomatic note, saying the MFA's lawyers would look at it, and 
promised a response on the type of agreement documentation they 
required. 
 
 
 
¶3. (C) After the meeting, a representative of MFA's Americas 
Desk advised that on February 23 there would be a meeting of the 
relevant ministries on commercial transit of U.S. cargo.  The 
MFA representative cited a previous U.S. draft diplomatic note 
and the Ambassador's remarks indicating that this transit would 
bring economic benefits to the country and asked for a more 
detailed description of the benefits for the republic to report 
to the government officials at the meeting.  The Ambassador 
responded that the United States was looking at commercial 
shipments, using Tajikistan's rail, road, and terminal 
facilities.  The U.S. government would contract with commercial 
shippers, who would pay customary fees related to shipping, 
bringing revenues to commercial transit operators. This would be 
an excellent business opportunity and a chance for Tajikistan to 
demonstrate its ability to act as a transit country, which could 
attract attention from other potential customers and investors. 
 
 
 
¶4. (C) Minister of Transportation Ashur began his meeting with 
the request for U.S. support in constructing a bridge at Kokul. 
He discussed at some lengths the benefits for both Afghanistan 
and Tajikistan of this connection.  The Ambassador indicated 
that the request for the Kokul Bridge was being studied but that 
no commitments had been made; she reiterated the need in the 
meantime to see the existing bridge at Nizhniy Pyanj used to 
full capacity.  Turning specifically to the NDN issue, Minister 
Ashur, like the Minister of Foreign Affairs, proposed 
Kolkhozobad as an intermodal transit point, noting it is the 
closest railway point to the Afghan border.  He acknowledged, 
however, that there was currently no truck terminal there, so 
container transloading could not take place.  Minister Ashur 
reported that there were no serious issues in the relationship 
 
DUSHANBE 00000231  002 OF 002 
 
 
between the Uzbekistan and Tajikistan rail systems, indicating 
that any small misunderstandings could be resolved at the 
working level; he assured RADM Harnitchek that there would be no 
problems with the transit of U.S. cargo.  Tajikistan railways 
work within the framework of the Organization for Cooperation of 
Railways. 
 
 
 
¶5. (C) Chairman of the GKNB Abdrahimov, who oversees the Border 
Guards, stated Tajikistan's willingness to help in coalition 
efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and expressed gratitude for the 
bridge at Nizhniy Pyanj.  He added that "the sooner we build a 
second bridge at Kokul, the better" for additional transit 
options.  Like the Ministers in the previous meetings, he 
suggested using Kolkhozobad, citing its proximity to the Afghan 
border.  He reported that operations would be ongoing at the 
Nizhniy Pyanj Bridge on a 24-hour-a-day basis and that border 
guard strength there would be plussed up.  Finally, he passed to 
the U.S. side a list of equipment they requested to facilitate 
operations at the bridge facility, mostly relating to 
computers/power needs such as UPS, surge protectors, and 
generators. 
 
 
 
¶6. (C) Head of Customs Service Zaripov emphasized Tajikistan's 
commitment to engagement and support for development of economic 
ties with Afghanistan.  He said that the Customs Service was 
ready to cooperate and negotiate on transit of cargo through 
Tajikistan to assist coalition forces in Afghanistan. 
Indicating that his tasking came directly from President Rahmon, 
he assured RADM Harnitchek that there would be a smooth flow of 
cargo without bureaucratic restraints. 
 
 
 
¶7. (C) Comment: Cargo transit through Tajikistan clearly has 
support from the highest levels of government.  Each meeting was 
attended by the minister or agency head who offered full support 
from his organization.  The appearance of the GKNB Director 
himself was unexpected-usually his deputy leads any meetings-and 
indicates the importance attached to this issue.  Although there 
is much good political will and strong oral support from the 
Tajikistan side on the transit issue, no formal agreement has 
been reached yet.  Each of the meetings involved a 
not-unexpected request for infrastructure development (all 
mentioned Kolkhozobad and Kulyob) which may be proposed 
explicitly as a quid pro quo for use of Tajik territory for the 
cargo transit.  End Comment. 
 
 
 
¶8. (U) USTRANSCOM Admiral Harnitchek cleared this message. 
JACOBSON