BACKGROUND: Central Asia is considered to be the heart of Eurasia, serving as the linking point between East and West as well as between North and South. It is a gateway to Europe for China, South and South East Asia, and it is pivotal in the relationships between Russia and the Southern Asian countries. The region is served by an extensive national rail and road system, but it has no direct access to the sea or to the world’s transport networks. Central Asia is a landlocked region and Uzbekistan, the region’s most populated (and densely populated) country, is one of only two double land-locked countries in the world (the other is Liechtenstein). The region is located at a great distance from any major markets, and seaports. The U.S. is approximately 12,000 km away; Europe is 6,000 km distant; and to the South, the nearest naval communication system is 2,000 km away. The geographical remoteness from the main seaports is a serious disadvantage and impediment to the region’s fully-fledged participation in globalization, diminishing capabilities and limiting the de-facto sovereignty of regional countries. According to Uzbekistani officials, often the expenses for the transportation of the imported goods exceed the original prices by up to 60 percent. These factors make the export of some goods economically unprofitable and the import of vital goods burdensome. In this light, the development of alternative regional transportation networks is considered a cornerstone of the national and regional strategies in Central Asia.

IMPLICATIONS: The Newly Independent States of Central Asia share a common post-Soviet system of transport communications, including roads (rail and highway), as well as oil and gas pipelines. They inherited a well-developed road and pipeline network, but it was one-sided and ill-suited to the needs of free and internationalized markets. It makes all regional countries completely dependent upon the “northern corridor”. Central Asia is at the crossroads. In order to benefit from its strategic position, and to reinforce sovereignty economically and politically, regional countries are developing the existing system of transport communications towards eastern and southern directions and unify it with the transport systems of neighboring countries, first of all, of China, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. An example of the Central Asian countries’ joint efforts is the construction of the 302-km Tedjen-Serahs-Meshed rail link between Turkmenistan and Iran, opened in May 1996. According to experts, this route cuts travel time to Europe from Central Asia by four hours (from the Transsiberian’s 14,000 km to 9,500 km). Within the framework of the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China project, highways and railroads will be built through Andijan (Uzbekistan) and Osh (Kyrgyzstan) to Kashgar (China). The existing Kazakhstan-China rail link through “Druzhba” started to operate in 1992. It brought a significant growth of regional countries’ trade relations with China, and today this link is becoming a gateway for oil and gas pipelines. At present, a 962 km Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline is under construction. Its completion is planned to the end of 2005, providing this Central Asian country with the capacity to reach a production of up to 100 million tons of oil a year, and to extend its potential oil customers to Southeast Asia. Positive changes in Afghanistan provide new opportunities for regional cooperation in this field. In the last summit of the Central Asian Cooperation Organization (CACO) in October 2004, Afghanistan obtained an observer status within the organization. Needles to say, improving and connecting Afghanistan’s roads with the Central Asian transport system would be a significant contribution by regional countries to the international community as well to the process of economic recovery and political stability in this country. The realization of this goal is vested in the agreement “On the creation of the International Trans-Afghan corridor” signed by Uzbekistan, Iran and Afghanistan in June 2003. The agreement implies the construction of a 2,400 km road (possibly with a rail network in the future) through Termez-Mazar-e Sharif-Herat to the Iranian seaports of Bandar-Abbas and Chabahar. This route allows Central Asian countries to reach the Persian Gulf, and increase the level of interaction of Central Asian roads, and China as well (through the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China project) with the Middle East, Europe, and Southwest Asia. It is important to note that at present, about 50% of Uzbekistan’s cotton is exported via the Persian Gulf. Work is well under way to improve transport corridors that will connect Central Asia with South Asia through Afghanistan. This will provide crucial access to the Arabian Sea. The transport corridor Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan is rather important not only for Uzbekistan, but also for other Central Asian countries. This would allow Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to trade through the Arabian Sea on the doors of South and Southwest Asia and the Middle East with distances reduced by approximately 1200-1400 km. Another prospective transport project is the Murghab-Kulma road, which will connect Tajikistan with the Karakorum highway in China, and will allow the country, and region to have an alternative transport corridor, connecting them with China, Pakistan, and India. The strategic importance of this road is that alongside with the Afghan direction, it will allow the Central Asian states direct access to the Pakistani ports of Karachi and Gwadar, which are significantly closer in distance than the Baltic and Persian Gulf ports. But the most important fact is that the opening of these corridors would decline the one-sided northern monopoly on trade, and lead to positive changes in the geostrategic and geoeconomic situation in Central Asia.

CONCLUSIONS: The lack of an effective transport network with the outside world is one of the fundamental barriers for regional cooperation and for the integration of Central Asia into the world economy. A well-developed regional transportation system is the base of the region’s future prosperity, and a unique opportunity to developing international transport networks and trade relations for countries stretching from Europe to Asia. It is a facilitator for foreign investment, increasing the interests of external powers, such as the EU, China, Japan, Iran, Pakistan, and India in the region. An effectively united transport system in the heart of Eurasia is an essential element of regional stability and security. It will also provide positive momentum for India and Pakistan to improve their bilateral relationship. Thus an interconnected regional transport network is an advantage not only for Central Asia, but also for international community in general.

AUTHOR’S BIO: Inomjon Bobokulov holds a Ph.D. in International Law, and is a Visiting Scholar at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, Johns Hopkins University-SAIS.