Afghanistan is landlocked, but its location places it between Central Asia, South Asia, Iran and China. That creates a potential advantage: goods, electricity and gas moving between neighbouring regions can pass through Afghan territory.
Transit trade means goods cross a country on their way from one foreign market to another. The transit country may earn revenue from transport, services, fuel, warehousing, border fees and related business activity even when the goods are not ultimately sold there.
World Bank analysis has long argued that Afghanistan could gain from stronger regional connectivity, including energy transit and trade corridors. Its location can link resource-rich Central Asia with large markets in South Asia.
But location alone is not enough. Traders care about time, cost and predictability. Slow customs procedures, border closures, poor roads, security problems, inconsistent rules and payment difficulties can make a short geographic route commercially unattractive.
That is why projects such as rail links, TAPI, CASA-1000, border modernisation and digital payment systems are often discussed together. Each solves a different part of the connectivity problem.
Transit trade can also be misunderstood. High volumes of goods crossing Afghanistan do not automatically mean the country captures large profits. The economic benefit depends on local transport companies, storage, insurance, finance, customs efficiency and whether Afghan businesses can connect to the corridor.
The long-term opportunity is for Afghanistan to become more than a road between neighbours: a place where trade generates services, jobs, energy access and investment. Achieving that requires reliable institutions and stable cross-border cooperation as much as physical infrastructure.