The Lapis Lazuli Corridor’s Role in Afghanistan’s Economy-Oriented Foreign Policy under the Islamic Emirate Government

Abstract

Afghanistan, as a landlocked country, depends heavily on transit routes through neighboring states for foreign trade and access to regional and international markets. This dependence, combined with the country’s strategic location, underscores the importance of using trade corridors as instruments of an economy-oriented foreign policy. The Lapis Lazuli Corridor offers this opportunity by linking Afghanistan to Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye, and broader markets. Despite growing attention to Afghanistan’s trade and regional connectivity, independent analysis of the corridor’s role as an active foreign policy instrument remains limited. This study examines the Lapis Lazuli Corridor's role in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan's economy-oriented foreign policy. A qualitative case study design was employed, focusing primarily on developments from August 2021 to 2026. The final analytical corpus comprised 25 academic, policy, and institutional sources published between 1982 and 2026, with earlier works used mainly for historical and theoretical context. The study identified relevant literature through Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science, supplemented by official documents and reports from Afghan, regional, and international institutions, and analyzed it thematically. The findings indicate that the corridor can strengthen Afghanistan’s geoeconomic and transit position, diversify trade routes and market access, and deepen regional economic connectivity. However, infrastructure deficiencies, transport costs, customs coordination problems, financial constraints, and dependence on sustained interstate cooperation continue to limit its effectiveness as a fully established foreign policy instrument.