Resource information
Central Asia is often associated with
the silk route or road, the longest overland trade route
connecting China to Europe and one of the oldest in history.
Growth opportunities and the future prosperity of the region
are highly dependent upon the efficiency of its internal and
external supply-chain connections, which is the focus of
this report. Supply-chain connectivity depends on the
quality of the infrastructure on specific routes. This study
explains how supply chain fragmentation remains a serious
obstacle to economic development of Central Asia and to
Eurasian integration more generally. It provides a
comprehensive assessment of the various factors that yet
impede supply-chain integration, including weak transport
and communications infrastructure, but as important, and
perhaps more so, critical weaknesses in policy,
institutions, and governance. Based on this assessment this
report provides an insightful set of recommendations that,
if taken up by the governments of Central Asia and by their
key neighbors, will go a long way in promoting the effective
integration of Central Asia into an increasingly connected
Eurasian continental economy and with that into the global economy.
