186
Pakistan, and India. It is hoped that it will promote easier trade through developed
infrastructure such as transport routes and utility supply routes.
Around 1.6 million consumers will benefit from the New Silk Road. As noted by
the Asian Development Bank, Central Asia currently only accounts for 6.2% of
global trade. Two key projects of the New Silk Road, the CASA-1000 hydroelectricity grid and the proposed TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India)
natural gas pipeline, will necessitate intraregional cooperation, although it seems
unlikely that this will emerge as there is a lack of both trust and finance among the
regional governments (www.foreignpolicy.com 2017a, b, c).
Hillary Clinton officially announced the US New Silk Road Initiative project on
a visit to India. The Silk Road was once a major trade route linking South and
Central Asia with the West. Clinton was enthused about the creation of a new route,
a wide network of trade opportunities, that would serve both trade and economic
needs. To accomplish this infrastructure such as rail routes, expressways, and pipelines, such as that from Turkmenistan to India via Afghanistan and Pakistan, needs
to be formed. Additionally, border crossings must be developed, as is happening at
Wage (linking Pakistan and India), and bureaucracy for the movement of goods and
people must be streamlined (Laruelle 2015:365).
According to the US Department of States, the US supported the New Silk Road
initiative as a means of diplomacy in action. The US aimed to help its allies in the
region to bolster peace, security, and stability in Central Asia and Afghanistan. In
accessing these targets, the US supports a transition to trade and offers assistance in
opening a new market and encouraging new business opportunities with the aim of
connecting Central Asia states to Afghanistan (www.state.gov 2018). The initiative
aimed to link Central Asia and South Asia in four important areas (www.state.
gov 2018):
Regional Energy Markets: South Asia countries, with their huge populations and
growing economic and energy requirements for reliable sources, are poised to
respond to Central Asian states’ needs for new markets for their huge oil and gas
resources. Transit oil and gas from Central Asia via Afghanistan would be winwin for both energy suppliers and energy consumers.
The CASA-1000 regional electricity grid: The US planned to contribute $15 million
by March 2014, with an additional World Bank commitment of $526 million and
support for the CASA secretariat, to add 1000 MW to Pakistan’s electricity grid.
$1.7 billion has been given for supporting energy transmission lines, hydropower
plants, and related reforms in Afghanistan since 2010 (www.state.gov 2018).
Trade and Transport: This chiefly involves improving the required infrastructure,
such as roads, railways, border crossing facilities, and bridges in order to improve
trade and transit in Central Asia and South Asia. This aspect of plans also encompassed customs and border operations. To this end (www.state.gov 2018),
• Since 2009, intraregional trade in Central Asia has increased by 49 percent;
• Since 2011, with the average cost of border crossings decreasing over a similar
timeframe, and customs procedures have been streamlined at seven Afghan border crossing points,
• with average release time down from eight days in 2009, to three and a half hours
in 2013.
5 US Energy Diplomacy Under the Obama Administration
Pakistan, and India. It is hoped that it will promote easier trade through developed
infrastructure such as transport routes and utility supply routes.
Around 1.6 million consumers will benefit from the New Silk Road. As noted by
the Asian Development Bank, Central Asia currently only accounts for 6.2% of
global trade. Two key projects of the New Silk Road, the CASA-1000 hydroelectricity grid and the proposed TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India)
natural gas pipeline, will necessitate intraregional cooperation, although it seems
unlikely that this will emerge as there is a lack of both trust and finance among the
regional governments (www.foreignpolicy.com 2017a, b, c).
Hillary Clinton officially announced the US New Silk Road Initiative project on
a visit to India. The Silk Road was once a major trade route linking South and
Central Asia with the West. Clinton was enthused about the creation of a new route,
a wide network of trade opportunities, that would serve both trade and economic
needs. To accomplish this infrastructure such as rail routes, expressways, and pipelines, such as that from Turkmenistan to India via Afghanistan and Pakistan, needs
to be formed. Additionally, border crossings must be developed, as is happening at
Wage (linking Pakistan and India), and bureaucracy for the movement of goods and
people must be streamlined (Laruelle 2015:365).
According to the US Department of States, the US supported the New Silk Road
initiative as a means of diplomacy in action. The US aimed to help its allies in the
region to bolster peace, security, and stability in Central Asia and Afghanistan. In
accessing these targets, the US supports a transition to trade and offers assistance in
opening a new market and encouraging new business opportunities with the aim of
connecting Central Asia states to Afghanistan (www.state.gov 2018). The initiative
aimed to link Central Asia and South Asia in four important areas (www.state.
gov 2018):
Regional Energy Markets: South Asia countries, with their huge populations and
growing economic and energy requirements for reliable sources, are poised to
respond to Central Asian states’ needs for new markets for their huge oil and gas
resources. Transit oil and gas from Central Asia via Afghanistan would be winwin for both energy suppliers and energy consumers.
The CASA-1000 regional electricity grid: The US planned to contribute $15 million
by March 2014, with an additional World Bank commitment of $526 million and
support for the CASA secretariat, to add 1000 MW to Pakistan’s electricity grid.
$1.7 billion has been given for supporting energy transmission lines, hydropower
plants, and related reforms in Afghanistan since 2010 (www.state.gov 2018).
Trade and Transport: This chiefly involves improving the required infrastructure,
such as roads, railways, border crossing facilities, and bridges in order to improve
trade and transit in Central Asia and South Asia. This aspect of plans also encompassed customs and border operations. To this end (www.state.gov 2018),
• Since 2009, intraregional trade in Central Asia has increased by 49 percent;
• Since 2011, with the average cost of border crossings decreasing over a similar
timeframe, and customs procedures have been streamlined at seven Afghan border crossing points,
• with average release time down from eight days in 2009, to three and a half hours
in 2013.
5 US Energy Diplomacy Under the Obama Administration