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 »More TAPI Delays, This Time in Afghanistan
January 27th, 2020
Via The Diplomat, an article on how TAPI’s “progress” remains slow across Afghanistan: Not that the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline needs any more delays, but Afghan officials say laws on land acquisition for the project as it crosses Afghanistan have not been signed, meaning the project’s timeline remains as foggy as ever. According to a TOLO News report, the […]
Read more »Chinese-Built Pakistani Port Begins Handling Afghan Transit Trade
January 20th, 2020
Via VoA News, a report on the newly opened Gwadar port: Pakistan’s newly opened southwestern Gwadar seaport has begun handling transit cargo headed to and from landlocked Afghanistan, marking a significant outcome of Islamabad’s multi-billion-dollar collaboration with China. Officials said the first ship full of Afghan cargo containers reached Gwadar on Tuesday. The containers […]
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.