Via Project Syndicate, commentary on how Africa – without more advanced logistics and infrastructure – will struggle to deliver essential supplies safely: As the COVID-19 crisis has escalated, stay-at-home orders have led to a surge in online purchases – of everything from groceries to medicines to household essentials – by consumers in the advanced economies. […]
Read more »Via The Economist, a report on Egypt’s economy: There was never much chance of social distancing in Cairo, a city more populous than most countries. Buses fill to overflowing, passengers dangling out of open doors. Millions live in informal settlements with streets barely wide enough for a sedan. And indeed, unlike many other Arab countries, […]
Read more »Via Window on Eurasia, commentary on the potential for north-south trade in Central Asia: Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have agreed to promote the expansion of rail traffic from their countries through Iran to Oman and thus to the world ocean, a path that China will likely be the biggest beneficiary of and that will challenge Moscow’s […]
Read more »Via Real Clear World, commentary on the potential need for a Trans-Caspian pipeline: China will enter the post-COVID-19 era with many geopolitical advantages. Its lockdown is ending while many in the West are in the midst of theirs. Western policymakers have yet to reach consensus on how to decouple their supply chains from China. Beijing appears to be winning […]
Read more »Via The Diplomat, a look at Uzbekistan, four years into its liberalization efforts: It has been almost four years since Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev embarked on a modernization mission through a series of political and economic reforms to repair his country’s poor global reputation as repressive and isolated country. By 2019, Mirziyoyev’s political opening aimed at […]
Read more »Via Silk Road Briefing, an article on how – with the last major China-Laos railway tunnel completed On Lancang-Mekong corridor – the Mekong River is becoming a major South-East Asian trade corridor: The last significant tunnel to be bored to complete the China-Laotian Railway was completed on March 15th, with track now being laid at […]
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