THE SILK ROUTE – REVIVAL OF THE PAST

INTRODUCTION
The term ‘SILK ROAD’ is tied to images of traders from long ago
selling their goods on the backs of camels through enchanted cities
separated by uninviting deserts. While the affection of the Silk Road
has been replaced by hard realities that many of its current
inhabitants face, the Silk Road is gradually being ‘reconstructed’ to
offer a number of potential business opportunities . The Silk Road
were an interconnected web of routes linking the ancient societies of
Asia, the subcontinent, Central Asia, Western Asia and Near East,
stretching to about 7,500km east to west but covering over
35,000km along all the many branch routes. The political, social and
cultural impacts of these movements had wide-ranging outcomes for
all the societies touched by them. The Silk Road surrounds some of
the most compound and enchanting systems in the history of
civilizations. A relocating network of roads and pathways for trade
that progressed over decades, permitted the exchange of cargo such
as silk, gems, spices, furs but also shared art, technology and religion.
It is also one of the first cultural ‘corridors’ to be engraved on the
World Heritage List, embodying the principles of cultural diversity,
heritage and peaceful corporation that are stimulated by World
Heritage Convention and UNESCO.

HISTORY
The Silk Route which used to be the busiest trade route in the
ancient world which got its name from the overwhelming dominance
of ‘SILK’ as one of the transported commodities along this route. The
name SILK ROUTE was given by Ferdinand Von Richthofen. The vast
trade networks of the Silk Roads carried more than just merchandise
and precious commodities. In fact, the constant movement and
mixing of populations brought about the widespread transmission of
knowledge, ideas, culture and beliefs which had a profound impact
on the history and civilizations of the Eurasian peoples. Travellers
along the Silk Roads were attracted not only by trade but also by the
intellectual and cultural exchange taking place in cities along the Silk
Roads, many of them which developed into hubs of culture and
learning. Science, Arts and Literature as well as Crafts and
Technologies were thus shared and disseminated into societies along
these routes, and in this way, languages, religions and cultures
developed and influenced one another. The trade route was
geopolitically important, so much so that every power in this region
aspired to have dominance on this route.

While the Han Dynasty prospered in the East, the Roman Empire
continued to grow in the West. By the beginning of the Common Era,
the Roman Empire stretched from northern France to the shores of
North Africa, and from Spain in the west to the eastern shores of the
Mediterranean. This guaranteed protection for trading caravans at
the western end of the Silk Road.

As capital of this empire, Rome became a city of great wealth and

sophistication importing products from far and wide. When Chinese
Silk first reached Rome it caused a sensation. The Romans had never
before seen such fine material, and silk garments became the height
of fashion amongst the aristocracy. In no time silk was in great
demand, and its popularity began to spread throughout the entire
Roman Empire. The Romans could not get enough silk to satisfy the
demand, and silk began to fetch huge prices. It was literally worth its
weight in gold.
The craze for silk and other eastern luxuries led to huge amounts of
Roman money and gold being sent eastwards to trading centres
across Asia, from Middle East to India and beyond. Early in the 1st
Century CE, the emperor Tiberius complained that the riches of the
empire were being drained away by what he saw as needless
extravagance: ‘In exchange for trifles, our money is to foreign lands
and even our enemies.’ But the silk continued to be bought.

MAP

THE SILK ROUTE TODAY

The routes that follow the old silk route still exist to this day. At the
moment this is possible to travel from Xi’an(once the ancient Chinese
imperial capital Changan) all the way to Istanbul(once
Constantinople) although it is no means an easy journey. The vast
majority of goods traded between East and West today are
transported by sea.
A paved road exists from Xi’an at the eastern end of the Silk Route as
far west as Kashgar. This remains central China’s principle overland
supply route to remote western areas of Xinjiang. From here a truck
path winds south through the Karokaram Mountains to connect
China with Pakistan. This link between modern China and Indian-
subcontinent has once again become an important international
trading route.

The path of the ancient Silk Route west from Kashgar into western
Turkestan connects China and the Central Asian Republics of the
former Soviet Union. This is a rarely used and difficult route which,
until recently, was closed because of bad relations between Russians
and Chinese. Over the next few years, the newly independent
republics in this area, such as Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, will need to
open up trade links to survive on their own and this could lead to a
new Silk Route developing. As always, travel and trade along the Silk
Route depends on the tide of history.

This is particularly the case along the southern roads of the Silk
Routes which continue through the Middle East. The present political
situations in some countries in the area has meant that parts of the
ancient Silk Route remained closed for international travellers. At
present, tours can follow the Eurasian Steppe Route through the old
Soviet Republics of Central Asia, skirting the north of the Caspian and
crossing the Black Sea into Turkey, although it is impossible to say as
yet hoe the breakdown of the Soviet Union will affect this area.

If international relations improve, it is possible that the entire Silk

Route may one day open up against as an international overland
trading link between East and Wes. If the road all the way from Xi’an
to Istanbul became a paved modern highway, a journey which once
may have taken three years could be travelled in less than two
weeks. In a future era of world peace, we may yet see trucks or
trains carrying international trade along the routes once travelled by
Zhang Qian and Marco Polo.

COMPARISON OF THE NEW AND OLD SILK ROAD

The old Silk Road was created more than two thousand years ago
during the expansion and outbreak of political trouble towards the
west by Han dynasty of China( 206 BC to 220 AD ). It was extended
about four thousand miles progress across Central Asian countries
before arriving Europe. Apart from silk the main products carried
were various Chinese valuable goods like textile, spices, olive, etc
and these were exchanged for gold, ivory, and glass objects. The
expansion of routes reached their peak under Tang dynasty of China,
but with the decline of Tang dynasty, outbreak of political trouble in
China and invansions of Central Asia by Mongols lead to the outbreak
of crusaders and plunders on these routes thus redusing the safety
of these routes. For many centuries this was the only route of
contact between the two extremes of Eurasian Continent. This route
served as an important channel in the development of Chinese
civilization, of the Indian Subcontinent, of Persia, the Arabic
peninsula and Europe. The meeting between merchants, pilgrims,
monks, soldiers, citizens of different region helped cultural fusion.

New Silk Road or BRI in addition to the revival of old trade routes has
two more aspects geo-political and geo-economics. Geo-economic
objective is creating a common, market for Eurasia or coming nearer
to Europe for trade expansion while as Geopolitical aspect is
concerned with establishing China as a global hegemon. With the
idea of revival of new Silk Road China is coming with new world
order, they are reshaping world order moving away with traditional
concepts of treaties and alliances to infrastructure as basis, they are
knitting world together.

Belt and Road Initiative is called as a ‘Belt’ as its ultimate goal is the
creation of thickly integrated economic corridors rather than a
transportation linking two points, this follows not only ancient paths
but new regions also. The new Silk Road is defined as Chinese
strategic vision, a wide policy aiming to solve internal and external
challenges, not a well-defined strategy. The basic idea is to build a
thick network of infrastructures facilitating the exchange of goods,
knowledge and culture not only between China and Europe but also
among countries of Eurasia, Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe
involves it. The basic aim to facilitate the moment of goods, service
and people for boosting intra-regional trade and investment while
silmultaneously stimulating economic development. It is not only a
network of infrastructure but a platform to promote and bolster
economic integration

The New Silk Road consists of two main connectivity networks, the
Silk Road Economic Belt and Silk Road Maritime Belt. Silk Road
Economic Belt has three main routes through Eurasia, the middle
route with oil and gas pipelines, the northern route with Eurasian
land bridge and the southern route with transnational highways,
inspired by the Chinese admiral Zheng during the Ming dynasty; the
Silk Road Maritime Belt has been shaped. It plans to connect China’s
east coast with Europe via the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.

REVIVING THE SILK ROUTE

More than 1600 years ago, a 65-yearold Chinese monk named Fa
Xian made his maiden pilgrimage to India to look for Buddhist
scriptures. The route along he travelled was later called the Silk
Road, and the route he chose to go back to China via the Indian
Ocean was named the Maritime Silk Road. The Silk Road embodies
the spirit of peace, co-operation, openness, inclusiveness, mutual
learning and hard work.

President Xi Jinping of China brings the spirit of the ancient Silk Road
up to date calling for the joint development of an economic belt
along the Silk Road of the 21st century. These two initiatives of
overland and Maritime Silk Road aim to seize the opportunity of
further opening up of China, especially its western side, and to work
with its neighbouring countries to speed up the development of Asia.

The ‘Belt’ and ‘Road’ initiative are inclusive because they are a
banner of unity among nations and a commitment to cooperation.
They will contribute to a greater connectivity and complementarity
among East Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and West
Asia and help to develop and improve our supply chain, industrial
chain and value chain. It will, thus, bring pan-Asian and Eurasian
regional cooperation to a new level.

The initiatives help boost infrastructure development and structural

innovation, to improve business environment of the region, to
facilitate an orderly and an unimpeded flow of production factors
and their efficient distribution, to accelerate development of
landlocked countries and remote areas, to lower costs and barriers
of trade and investment, and to drive greater reform and opening up
by regional countries.

The initiatives help to strengthen exchanges among people to

different nations, regions, classes and religions, to explore the
potential of the soft aspect of the exchanges and cooperation, and to
consolidate the foundation of friendship among people and
contribute positively to peace and development in Asia. Former
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh responded positively to State
Councillor Yang Jiechi of China when the latter invited India to take
an active role in the process to his visit to India.

Some of the existing projects of cooperation between our two

countries, like the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic
Corridor and Chinese industrial parks in India, can be included in the
cooperation. India’s Look East policy as well as the BIMSTEC
Cooperation can also be integrated with the Belt and the Road
initiatives.

There need to be five links in the chain. The first is policy. We should
strengthen policy coordination by making use of bilateral
mechanisms such as China-India Strategic Economic Dialogue to
increase the convergence of our strategy of development.

The second link is roads. We should explore the possibility of

improving cross-border transportation infrastructure in the border
areas without dispute to work for a transport network linking China
and India, as well as linking east and south Asia.

The third link is trade and investment. China is ready to expand its
investment in India and reduce our trade imbalance. We should push
forward our consultations to result in the China-India regional trade
agreement in due time. Meanwhile, efforts should be made to
remove trade and investment barriers, to improve circulation and
quality of the regional economy and make the regional cooperation
bigger.

The fourth link is currency. We can work for financial settlement in

Chinese Yuan and Indian Rupee, encourage currency swap,
strengthen banking cooperation and set up regional financial
institutions for development to bring down transaction costs and
enhance regional arrangement to fend off financial risks.

The fifth link is people. Besides existing people-to-people exchange

mechanisms, we should continue to enhance exchanges, especially
at the grassroots level, establish more sister cities and provide more
facilities for people-to-people exchanges to promote friendship
between China and India.

ROUTES OF SILK ROAD

OVERLAND ROUTES
The Silk Road consisted of several routes. Among the overland
routes, the dominating ones where the Northern route, the Southern
route and the Southwestern route.

The Northern Route- The easternmost point of the northern

route was Chang’an, an important city in central China. Chang’an
was the capital for more than ten different Chinese dynasties.
The northern route became popular around the first century BC,
when the Chiense Emperor Wu of Han, who reigned from 141 to 87
BC, used his army to keep nomadic tribes from attacking travellers
within his sphere of influence.

From Chang’an, the northern route went northwest through the

Chinese provinces Shaanxi and Gansu, before splitting into three
different routes.

1. The first route followed the mountain ranges north of the

Taklamakan Desert.
2. The second route followed the mountain ranges south of the
Taklamakan Desert
3. The third routewent north of the Tian Shan mountains through
Turpan, Talgar and Almaty in what is now southeastern
Kazakhstan.
The first and second route rejoined each other again at Kashgar, an
oasis city in today’s Xinjiang. After Kashgar, the routes split again,
with a southern branch going down towards Termez and Balkh, and a
northern branch going to Kokand and then west across the Karakum
Desert.
Before reaching Merv in Turkmenistan, both routes joined the main
southern route.

One branch of the northern route turned off to the northwest

instead of continuing westwards. This one past the Aral Sea and
went north of the Caspian Sea, before reaching the Black Sea.

THE SOUTHERN ROUTE- The southern route went from China

through the Karakoram mountains. Because of this, it was also
known as the Karakoram route. The Karakoram mountain range
spans the borders of Pakistan, India, and China, and also extends
into Afghanistan and Tajikistan in the northwest.
West of the Karakoram mountains, the southern route had many
spurs heading south to the sea, since many travellers wished to
continue by ship instead of going overland.

For those who did not head south to the ocean, the southern route
continued over the Hindu Kush mountains and into Afghanistan,
joining the northern routes before reaching Merv in Turkmenistan.

From Merv, the southern route went westward in almost a straight

line, through northern Iran, Mesopotamia and the northern outskirts
of the Syrian Desert, to reach the Levant where ships were waiting to
take the precious cargo across the Mediterranean to southern
Europe. Continued travel over land was also possible from the
Levant, either north through Anatolia or south to North Africa.

There was also a branch of the Silk Road that went from Herat in
Afghanistan to the ancient port town of Charax Spasinu by the
Persian Gulf, passing through Susa on the way. From Charax Spasinu,
the journey continued by ship to various Mediterranean ports, such
as Petra
THE SOUTHWESTERN ROUTE- The southwestern route went from
China to India, through the Ganges Delta. This delta region was an
important trading hub, and archaeological excavations have found an
astonishing array of goods from various parts of the world here, such
as ancient Roman beads and gemstones from Thailand and Java.

TRADING HUB-The regions role as a trading hub also meant

that the area served as a currency exchange. Most western
currencies never made it further east than this and most eastern and
Chinese coins never made it further west than this. The traders in
the Ganges Delta primarily used eastern currencies when they
traded with eastern merchants and western currencies when they
traded with western merchants. Traders would exchange currency
with each-other to have the appropriate currency when trading with
merchants from different areas. This was not strictly speaking
necessary since the coins were made out of precious metals and
their worth was determined by their gold or silver value. Many
traders would none the less prefer to trade using currencies that was
widely circulated in their part of the world.

CURRENCY BROKERS- The traders in the Ganges delta did

in other words fill a function similar to what currency exchange
brokers do today. Currency brokers help facilitate the trade
between different countries and cultures by allowing people to
buy and sell currencies. Today these brokers also facilitate
currency speculation, the buying and selling of currencies to make
a profit from changes in the exchange rate. This was not possible
at the time of the Silk Road since, as earlier mention, the value of
the currencies was fixed to the value of the metals they were
made of. Many contemporary currencies in the area remains fixed
to this day.
THE LEDO ROUTE- There is evidence for a trading route going
from Sichuan in modern-day China through Yunnan, Burma, and
Bangladesh. In some sources, the route is called Ledo.
Even though the ancient Greco-Roman geographer Claudius Ptolemy
( 100-170 AD) never travelled this far east, he must have been able
to obtain information about the region through other travellers,
because he produced a map where the Ganges Delta is depicted with
a remarkable degree of accuracy. The map shows that whoever
informed Ptolemy knew about things such as the course of the
Brahmaputra River.

THE MARITIME ROUTE-

The maritime parts of the Silk Road involved waters such as:

1) The Yellow Sea

2) The East China Sea
3) The South China Sea
4) The Strait of Malacca
5) The Indian Ocean
6) The Gulf of Bengal
7) The Arabian Sea
8) The Persian Gulf
9) The Red Sea
10) The Mediterranean

THE SPREAD OF RELIGIONS

The merchants who travelled through the Silk Route did not just
Routes were a major channel for the spread of religions throughout
Asia and Europe. The first thousand years of the Common Era were
to see huge changes in religious thinking. Older religions, such as
Buddhism, spread from India into Central Asia and China, while
several new religions emerged, including Christianity and Islam. Each
religion was to exercise a huge influence on its followers, not just in
their everyday life but in their arts, their literature and their politics.
These religious influences are reflected in the archaeological finds
made along the Silk Route.

THE PILIGRIM EXPLORERS

Although Buddhist pilgrims probably began reaching China in the
First or Second Century ce, this new Indian religion was not at first
accepted by the Chinese. Not until the last troubled years of the Han
Dynasty did the Chinese begin turning to Buddhism in large numbers.
During the unstable period which followed the Han Dynasty, China
was largely cut off from India. The Chinese became worried that in
isolation they might have strayed from the 'true path' of the
Buddhists in India. In 399 CE they sent a pilgrim called Fa Xian to
India to find out if this was the case. Fa Xian's record of his daring
journey along the unprotected Silk Route to India is one of the few
descriptions we have of the eastern end of the Silk Route during this
period. According to Fa Xian, crossing the Taklamakan was
sometimes so dangerous that 'it was impossible to know the way but
for dead men's decaying bones, which showed the direction'. When
Fa Xian eventually arrived in India, he was an object of great wonder.
This was the first time the Indians had seen a man from 'the Land of
Han' (as they called China). It was to be twelve years before Fa Xian
finally made it back to China, byway of the Spice Route. Two
centuries later, the Buddhists realized that many of their sacred
books had been mistranslated from the original Indian texts. This led
to serious errors in Buddhist practice. So another pilgrim, a learned
man called Xuan-Zang, decided to set out along the Silk Route for
India to seek out the original Indian Buddhist holy books. Xuan-Zang
was to survive many adventures on his travels including a murder
attempt! Travelling via Samarkand and Bactria, his record of the
journey provides us with first-hand details of the peoples he met. For
example, he describes how half the Sogdians lived by agriculture, the
other half by trade. But when Xuan-Zang finally arrived in India he
found 'a thousand monasteries lay deserted in ruins, overgrown with
weeds', many destroyed by the invasions of the Huns during the 5th
Century ce. In northern and central India, people had forsaken
Buddhism and returned to the Hindu religion. Xuan-Zang wandered
throughout India for nearly sixteen years. He visited Buddhist holy
places and found the religion thrived in the east of the country. He
collected Indian holy books to take back with him to China. On Xuan-
Zang's return to China, the new Emperor Taizong was so impressed
with his exploits that he offered Xuan-Zang a post as his imperial
adviser. But Xuan-Zang chose to retire to a monastery and complete
his task, making a faithful translation of the sacred Buddhist books
he had brought back from India.

INDIA’S LINK WITH SILK TRADE ROUTES-

There are four corridors which link India with ancient Silk Roads.

1. The road through high Tibetan plateau and down to the

Ganges – to Sravasti.
2. The Road through valleys and mountains of western
Nepal to the fertile valleys of the Ganges.
3. The Silk Roads through the Karakoram via Srinagar, Leh
and Sangju Pass covering Western Himalaya.
4. The road down the Ganges – Delhi to Chandraketugarh in
West Bengal.

The present study focuses on the trade links of India with ancient
Silk Roads through Karakoram Pass in western Himalaya with two
fold objective – First, to understand the cultural geography and
traditional society of the western Himalaya which has been
changed beyond expectation; Second, documentation of common
archaeological sites and monuments along the silk trade road
which covers vast geographical area from the surrounding areas in
the Trans- Pamir, Xin-jiang, Ladakh Kashmir and Swat and covers
vast span of time and provide cultural continuity from pre-historic
to historic period.

The western Himalayan region which extends from Chitral in the

extreme west to the Uttrakhand Himalaya in the east consists series
of great mountain ranges i.e. Hind Kush, the Pamir the Karakoram,
the Great Himalayas and behind it lies the Great table land of Tibet.

Ladakh situated on the upper Indus is the main centre of important

trade networks of both long distance trade and local trade.

Indeed it is a meeting place of several trade roads coming from

Yarkand, Punjab and Kashmir. The six passes from Uttrakhand
Himalaya and passes from Lahaul and Spiti, meet the Leh-Lahasa
road at Gartok. The physical condition of the western Himalayas
clearly shows that the Himalayan economy was dependent upon its
trade with Central Asia and China.

The flora and fauna of the Western Himalaya forms natural resources
which have been used by its inhabitants in different ways. Thus the
natural resources of the Himalayas also acted as a meaningful force
in the development of stock breeding and agriculture production.
The archaeological researches conducted in the region revealed that
the Bactrian Camel, Yak, Horse, Wild Goat and Wild Buffalo have
been domesticated since the early phase of the Neolithic stage.

It the subsistence level, the food grains grown in the lower Indus
valley of the Indus River were exchanged with wool and salt from the
Chang Thang region of Ladakh and western Tibet. Although no seals
have been noticed in the region to witness the trade agreement
between the trading partner of Tibet and Ladakh, as per local
tradition the primitive form of trade agreement was known as
Singchyad (piece of wood). It was usually a piece of wood or stone
broken into two pieces marked with their identity retained by each
party in order to be tallied to ensure the trade contact. This was
followed by some rituals to strengthen the relationship and also to
gain confidence as mark of reputation for honesty. Later, when the
composition of trade items increased and also within the event of
development of long distance trade, it was recorded on written
promissory note by giving details of transaction of trade.

The pashmina wool trade has also formed a continuous old trade
relationship between Tibet and Kashmir.

Fairs, festivals and periodical marts were the main centres of

commercial gathering and marketing. To meet the mutual
requirements a social need was felt to hold periodical fairs
throughout the western Himalayan region.

The articles which found their way into Central Asia through the
passes of the Himalayas consisted of food grains, cotton, dyeing
material, gunny bags, utensils, dry fruits, silk, saffron, shawls and
works of arts from the Western Himalayas, etc and precious and
semi-precious stones, herbs, gold dust, musk, salt, borax and pack
animals from Tibet.

The significance of Himalayan Trade with Central Asia through

Karakoram pass not only lies in the items exchanged but also in the
employment opportunities. It provided to many sections of skilled
and unskilled Himalayan population; it encouraged cultivation of
crops in the hilly and rugged land and also provided large grazing
grounds along the Indus, Sutlej and Ganga and rivulets and shelters
near hot springs for sheep rearing. Trade ensured the promotion of
art, religion and folk industries and also created harmonious and
cordial relationship among various communities. The Himalayan
heritage also helps the present generation to recognise the
interdependence of people, nature and environment.

The present situation in the Himalayas marks an unprecedented

departure from anything known in the past. However, in the past,
economic and religious situations were very often interrelated
commerce, art and religion was closely inter-linked and much of this
represented a happy combination by which monuments of great
intensity flourished.

EXPECTATIONS
 Reviving lost linkage with various countries.
 To connect new bridges of co-operation and cultural
interaction.
 At national level, it is designed to link among several
institutions at state and central level to create sustainable
model for protection and preservation of tangible and
intangible heritage.
 At regional and local level, outreach programme through
training and workshops, advocating for sites in
identified states for inscription in World Heritage list.

PAST EFFORTS AND ONGOING ACTIVITIES

 Four corridors from India have been identified on preliminary
basis.
 Uttarapatha or commonly known as Grand Trunk Road is one of
the oldest and largest road of South Asia. An international
conference on Transnational nomination and also to support
promotion of cultural relation among various SAARC( South
Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries was held
in India.
 The monuments and sites located along this road comprises of
prehistoric settlement, Harappan sites, Buddhist Stupas &
Monasteries, Temples, Forts, Tombs, Pavilions , Bridges,
Gardens, Sarais (halting places), Kos minars (mile stones), Baolis
(wells) etc. These remains survive till date and some of them
have also been excavated providing a cultural continuity from
prehistoric to modern times.
  Some of the important historical places lying on this road are
Kabul, Peshawar, Attock, Lahore, Attari (Wagha border),
Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Ambala, Karnal, Kurukshetra,
Delhi, Mathura, Agra Kanpur, Allahabad, Benaras, Sasaram,
Patna, Dhanbad, Burdwan and Kolkata. All these places
invariably contain relics in different forms associated with the
development of culture in the context of trade and commerce.
The range of cultural relics along the GT( The Grand Trunk) road
is indeed vast.
 Some important school of art such as Taxila, Mathura, Sarnath
and Sena flourished in this road. This road is also known as
path of song.
 12 sites from India which are historically of direct relevance
and thematically related to Silk Roads have been selected for
inclusion in the Tentative list of the serial WH nominations-
Vikramshila ( Antichak, Bihar), Vaishli ( Bihar), Kaushambi (UP),
Kushinagar (UP), Sravasti (UP), Ahichchhatra (Bareilly, UP),
Indraprastha (Old fort Delhi) Sanghol ( Ludhiana, Punjab),
Harwan ( Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir), Arikamedu
(Pondicherry), Kaveripattinam ( Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu),
Shuraparaka ( Nala Sopara, Maharashtra).

BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE

The Belt and Road Initiative, formerly known as One Belt One Road is
a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese
government in 2013 by President Xi Jinping.

The Belt and Road Initiative is China’s-led effort to promote

economic development and inter-regional connectivity in over 115
countries, and is arguably the largest single investment in
infrastructure in generations. This undertaking will involve a billions
of dollars of investments, largely in transportation, energy and
telecommunication infrastructure, industrial capacity and technical
capacity building.