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Written By: Mr. Mohammad Mohsin, a Participant of ICSF-UoS Fellowship Program 2025-26 at University of Sargodha<\/p>\n
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Global economic development depends on connectivity. Eurasia is home to a population of around 5.6 billion. The region has large reserves of oil and gas, particularly in Russia, as well as in Kazakhstan, specifically at Tengiz and Kashagan, in Turkmenistan, and in Azerbaijan. Despite being rich in natural resources, this region has historically remained a hub of power politics for Russia and the USA, especially during the Cold War. The China\u2013Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a major project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). CPEC was introduced by His Excellency President Xi Jinping during his visit to Pakistan in April 2015. This project will connect China\u2019s Kashgar with Gwadar in Balochistan through infrastructure projects such as highways, railways, and pipelines. This project has a worth of around $62 billion. However, the potential of CPEC is much broader.<\/p>\n
The Central Asian region is landlocked. Most of the land in this region is dry and hard for farming. The southern part of the region is drier, while the northern part is suitable for the cultivation of wheat. Central Asia is a significant region in the world politics in terms of being endowed with large reserves of natural resources. Uranium, just in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, is estimated to have about 20 per cent of the world. Magnesia (39%), lead (20%), zinc (13%), and chromium (30%) are also present in significant quantities. However, the landlocked nature of the Central Asian states experiences problems when it comes to extracting and exporting these natural resources. The region is mainly dependent on foreign direct investment (FDI) by the major powers like China, the United States, the European Union (EU), and Russia. The emergence of Gwadar Port is an opportunity through which the regional states can transform their future since they will have a shorter route to trade and warm waters.<\/p>\n
Gwadar is situated close to the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, along which approximately one-fourth of the global trade is observed. Through land routes connecting Gwadar to Xinjiang, China could bypass the Strait of Malacca. It is also estimated that Persian Gulf trade diverted to Gwadar and then to China may result in a route reduction of up to 75 kilometers. Pakistan and China also have oil pipelines planned by 2030, which would process about 40 percent of the Chinese oil imports. The Gwadar Port has not been restricted to oil and gas, as its purpose is also to serve as a logistics hub in Pakistan. The ferry service initiated by Pakistan to the Gulf states like Oman, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia will lower the cost of transport. These ferry services will also create new opportunities for small traders. The Gwadar Free Zone will facilitate the factories, digital trade and cold storage facilities and through these facilities, goods like cotton and minerals of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan respectively will be stored and exported. The trade between Pakistan and the Central Asian states has been on the rise particularly during the past two years; the country recorded a figure of 1.92 billion USD in trade with the Central Asian nations in 2024 and 2.41 billion USD in 2025. Gwadar is already being used as a trade route for Afghanistan. Other projects like the Khyber Pass Economic Corridor (KPEC) and CAREC corridors will enhance even more the connectivity link between Pakistan and Central Asia via Afghanistan. The energy initiatives including the Central Asia-South Asia (CASA-1000) and the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline will assist to enhance the energy needs of Pakistan.<\/p>\n
Economic gain is only possible when the physical infrastructure, comprising ports, pipelines, roads, is supported by a coordinated action taken by the political outfit. The transformation must be enabled by regional institutions, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) focused on security and political alignment. South and Central Asia are linked with the Middle East through the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). A good example of ECO cooperation is the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul (ITI) corridor. It is also significant that soft connectivity between countries be developed. The introduction of a single-window customs system in Pakistan will support the regional objectives and make Gwadar a gateway to the region. Transport Visas, common customs procedures and trade documentation can also minimize costs.<\/p>\n
Regional trade development is challenged by many factors. The first challenge lies within Pakistan, especially the security situation in Baluchistan province. Balochistan occupies 40% of the total Pakistani territory; its population density is around 42\/km\u00b2. The region has long faced a sense of discrimination among its people, especially in political and economic spheres. Projects such as the Saindak Gold and Copper Project, are also considered a reason for dispute. Despite possessing rich natural resources, Chaghi remains an underdeveloped district of Pakistan. Another major challenge to regional connectivity is rivalry among states, particularly between Pakistan and India, and Pakistan and Afghanistan. Afghanistan remains the core of regional connectivity, and harsh relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have hampered connectivity efforts. At the same time, projects such as Iran\u2019s Chabahar Port have created rivalry instead of cooperation. Additionally, major powers view connectivity as a tool of influence, which adds pressure on smaller states and affects multilateral cooperation. Thirdly, political instability in the region is also a major challenge. Frequent changes in government, weakening of state institutions, and lack of the regional trust interrupt the stability of the policies, whereas the projects of such character demand long-term commitment.<\/p>\n
To overcome all these challenges, both Pakistan and regional countries should take joint steps to increase regional prosperity. Firstly, Pakistan\u2019s role is to resolve provincial grievances. Transparent financial resource management is key to solving these issues. Development should focus more on improving the lives of local communities, not excluding them. To address concerns of key organizations like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), the state must discuss their concerns through table talk and not via coercion. In response to regional rivalries, China must take a more active role in fostering trust and encouraging trade among nations in order to foster common interests and a stable environment where development can take place. Organizations like the SCO, CAREC and ECO need to emphasize linking routes, cooperation and the building of trust among states. Political instability problem can be resolved by investing in political culture development in the countries. Positive results can be achieved through investing in grassroots education on political ethics and tolerance to others. CPEC can determine the future of trade in the region in case it is managed properly. Nevertheless, political stability and mutual cooperation matter.<\/p>\n
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Written By: Mr. Mohammad Mohsin, a Participant of ICSF-UoS Fellowship Program 2025-26 at University of Sargodha Global economic development depends on connectivity. Eurasia is home to a population of around 5.6 billion. The region has large reserves of oil and gas, particularly in Russia, as well as in Kazakhstan, specifically at Tengiz and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":58131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,33,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-news","category-national-news","category-pakistan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailybigdigit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailybigdigit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailybigdigit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailybigdigit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailybigdigit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailybigdigit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailybigdigit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/58131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailybigdigit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailybigdigit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailybigdigit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}