Reviving the Silk Road: Kazakhstan’s Role in International Trade and Its Energy Corridors
Few realize how important our land was for centuries in the culture exchange that was the ancient Silk Road. With trade caravans traveling from the Chinese border across some of our cities, then onward to Central Asia, Persia, the Caucasus, and Europe, the land of the Kazakhs was a true protagonist.
For centuries, the Great Kazakh steppe welcomed caravans, and traders speaking different languages filled the bazaars and rested in the oases of route between Asia and Europe. Thos routes are now packed with trains and with XXIth Century infrastructure that is changing everything.
Cities, like Sayram, Yassy, Otyrar, and Taraz, dating back thousands of years and once important stops on the Silk Road, are still thriving today. The Silk Road is not a historical concept anymore.
The New Silk Road, or Eurasian Land Bridge, is a modern transport system designed to follow the historic Silk Road routes, and expedite the overland movement of cargo and passengers from China to Europe. Kazakhstan, thanks to its geographical location in Central Asia, is a key player in the new Silk Road in the digital world.
Today, Kazakhstan continues its role as a connector between East and West through modern energy corridors and trade routes, with its railway and pipeline infrastructure.
Initiatives such as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, or the China-Kazakhstan pipeline that created a win-win situation by connecting our vast oil resources directly to China's strong consumer market.
Another one, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) that exports Kazakhstan's oil, providing access to international markets and enhancing energy security. Our participation in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aims to revive the Silk Road’s spirit of trade and connectivity.
Time and again, I see immense opportunities in benefiting from our historical position along the Silk Road to attract foreign investment. I encourage modernization and we are actively undertaking large-scale digitization reforms in recent years to develop digital infrastructure to support these goals.
With this pace, expect to see Kazakhstan taking a more significant role on the world stage soon. We have rich resources that the world requires, strong diplomatic skills and innovative projects for development to strengthen our status as a strategic partner in global trade, more specifically, in international energy and economic networks.
