Modern-day 'Silk Road'

摘要

Eight countries in Central Asia have signed-up to a US$ 18.7 billion strategy to develop transport infrastructure in the region. Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other lending institutions, want to make the region a vital transit route for trade between Europe and Asia - a modern-day equivalent of the ancient Silk Road. According to the ADB, although central Asia lies at the centre of the Eurasian continent, less than 1% of all trade between Europe and Asia currently goes through the region. Inadequate transport infrastructure and cumbersome border processes have resulted in nearly all trade going by sea.