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Azerbaijan is increasingly important node in New Silk Road

21 April 2019 10:21 (UTC+04:00)
Azerbaijan is increasingly important node in New Silk Road

By Trend

Azerbaijan is an important node in New Silk Road, Charles Stevens, the founder of The New Silk Road Project (www.thenewsilkroadproject.com), told Trend.

Stevens pointed out that Baku sits at the crossroad of developing north-south and east-west transportation routes.

"These span from Russia to India, via the newly developed Astara rail bridge, and China to Europe respectively. As synergies are created and scale brings cost efficiencies, Azerbaijan is well placed to benefit from a strategy which will help diversify its economy. Azerbaijan is an increasingly important node in this growing multimodal network with the development of Baku Port at Alat," he added.

Stevens noted that over the past five years, the implementation of China’s Belt and Road Initiative has been opaque and unevenly dispersed across Eurasia.

"There is minimal clarity as to what foreign investment constitutes a ‘BRI project or not’ and those that are ‘BRI projects’ seem to be concentrated around the India Ocean littoral. This centres on East Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan and Southeast Asia. The implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, in the regions contiguous with the major arteries of the ancient Silk Road, are underdeveloped. This includes Kazakhstan, Iran, the South Caucasus, and Turkey," he said.

He believes that the Belt and Road Initiative can bring great opportunities but also a multitude of challenges.

"Each country needs to assess the benefits of potential projects on their individual merits. These may include financial terms, labour agreements, public benefits, environmental impact, and long term economic benefits," noted Stevens.

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