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Restoring Asian Silk Route: Towards the Vision of an Integrated Asia

Author: Prabir De & Biswa N. BhattacharyaySilver Editor Source: Contemporary Asia Pacific StudiesTime :2014-05-16 10:53:00

  Abstract: Until the 13th century, the ancient silk route of Asia was the world’s most important cross-border artery when Asia was a major trade and economic centre of the world. The Silk Road refers to an extensive pan-Asia interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South, Central and Western Asia with the Mediterranean, including North Africa and Europe. Over the past decades of globalization, Asia has remerged as the gravity of world economy. Many Asian economies have become an integral part of international production networks and benefited from increased growth, trade and investments. However, Asiaís huge potentials are remained untapped due to lack of region-wide connectivity. This paper argues that lack of full regional connectivity is one of the major constraints hindering regional growth; and integration in Asia as well as with the rest of the world. One of the conclusions of this paper is that Asia has to strengthen its regional connectivity making it as a conduit for international connectivity. This paper deals with current trade and transport integration among the countries in Asia, and discusses the issues and challenges need to be addressed in order to achieve a regional connectivity through Asia wide transport infrastructure (a la Silk Route).