A Study of the Geo-economics of Afghanistan with it’s Central and South Asian Neighbours

Geography

The countries of South Central Asian have interdependent economies and need cooperation and access to each other’s natural resources to accelerate economic growth. Afghanistan has implemented multibillion dollar projects in cross-border energy, connectivity and infrastructure projects while gaining prominence as transit route between energy rich Central Asian and energy poor South Asia. Multilateral power sector projects which include the Central Asia-South Asia (CASA-1000) power project, the Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan (TUTAP) electric power project and the Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan (TAP) power project aim to resolve Afghanistan’s energy crisis. Transnational economic corridors of Lapis Lazuli and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will provide the connectivity Afghanistan needs to enter international trade markets. Access to the Indian Ocean via the Chabahar port will help grow Afghanistan’s economy exponentially and the trans-country Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India (TAPI) gas pipeline project will add to the Afghanistan exchequer. Under the central Asia Regional Economic cooperation (CAREC) Program, Afghanistan, by 2030 will be connected to the significant economic hubs of the region. To oversee the completion of the ongoing projects, political stability and strong governance in Afghanistan is a must. A major concern are the delays in executing projects caused by internal strife.

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