A Nation Reconnecting after Centuries

A road bridge linking Tajikistan and Afghanistan paid for by the United States was officially opened on Sunday Aug 26th at a ceremony attended by the presidents of the two Central Asian countries
The bridge, nearly 760 meters (around 700 yards) long and 11 meters across, straddles the river Panj , between the ports of Nizhny Panj on the Tajik side and Shir Khan Bandar in Afghanistan.
The ceremony was also attended by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, who said the bridge will become the "widest connection" between Tajikistan, Afghanistan and the rest of the world. Gutierrez welcomed the opening of the bridge saying "It will be opened 24 hours a day with customs and border facilities on both sides, and the capacity to handle 1,000 vehicles every day."
This bridge of friendship is an historic event and will become an important link in the development of trade between the two countries and the region as a whole.
Tajiks inhabit the region on both sides of the unnatural border between the two countries which was drawn by the Tsarist Russia in late 18th century during the great game between British Empire and Russia.
The term Tajik is synonym to Persian, and its generally applied to Persian speaking people of Eastern Iranian who live in Central Asia republics of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.