CPEC and Pakistan’s Great Expectations
May 24th, 2020
Via Eurasia Review, commentary on CPEC: Since Islamabad has been bandying the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as the ultimate panacea for all the financial woes that Pakistan is facing as well as a “game changer for the region,” it doesn’t take very kindly, any contrarian views on this issue. Islamabad’s extreme sensitivity to any comments […]
Read more »Uzbekistan Looks To Pakistani Ports
May 11th, 2020
Via Dawn, a report on Uzbekistan’s interest in utilizing Karachi and Gwadar ports: Uzbekistan on Thursday formally sought Pakistan’s support for accession to the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA) in a bid to utilise Karachi and Gwadar ports for its trade operations. The formal request was made by Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Sardor Umurzakov […]
Read more »The Trade and Transit Woes of Landlocked Afghanistan
May 8th, 2020
Via The Diplomat, an article on how Pakistan plays a big role in dictating the fortunes of the Afghan economy: Being landlocked remains one of the most disadvantageous positions for a state, especially in the modern global economy dominated by maritime trade. Prominent Oxford University economist Paul Collier listed being landlocked with bad neighbors as […]
Read more »The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor at Five
April 6th, 2020
Via the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), a look at the result so the first five (5) years of The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that was officially launched in April 2015: KEY FINDINGS Scaled-back Ambitions: Of 122 announced projects, a quarter (32 projects) have been completed, […]
Read more »In Shadow of BRI: The Great Railway Game
April 1st, 2020
Via Reconnecting Asia, a look at how the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is complemented by two other initiatives: the Chabahar International Transport and Transit Corridor; and the proposed Russia-Pakistan (Ru-Pak) Corridor The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), examined in the first part of this series, has developed slowly but steadily during its twenty years of existence. Although mired […]
Read more »Afghan Transit Cargo: Game Changer For Gwadar Port
February 2nd, 2020
Via Lowy Interpreter, commentary on how Gwadar – the Chinese-run port in Pakistan – may have found a path to success: On a sunny Tuesday in the third week of January, a cargo ship named Diyala docked at Gwadar seaport, in south-west Pakistan. The enthusiastic port staff quickly unloaded the cargo. When the unloading was finished, Chinese […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.