New Silk Road Initiative

US Secretary of State Clinton, speaking about bringing hope to people in South and Central Asia that economic development can reach more people, said recently "...nearly a decade ago when they signed the Declaration on Good Neighbourly Relations. The time has come to operationalize that agreement and to create mechanisms that ensure nations will live up to their commitments, and the United States will invest the considerable diplomatic effort needed to help build such support for those outcomes".

Jump starting local economies is never an easy task. Its takes enterpreneurs who have ideas about businesses that might succeed in their communities. Being able to start a business, especially in countries that were once part of 'command economy systems' must be incredibly hard.

Indeed, there has been lots of discussion focused on building capacity in people to them help grow and understand how to create a business.

Often times, people wait for bilateral investment treaties to be designed, promoted and signed before they think about how to attract trade, investment, and create jobs. But is that really how it can be done most effectively?

Perhaps more efforts should be placed on building more reliable electric grid, roads or irrigation canals to more effectively serve the farmlands that produce cash crops? Clearly there are hundreds of topics that could be discussed.

The overall challenge in the region is to build broad-based economic systems through expanding opportunities for citizens to create opportunities for building longer-term stability in the region.

Perhaps it will be better to start a New Silk Road Initiative group and invite members of this platform who live in the region to begin to discuss how to a vision can be translated into reality. Are there people who want to work together to help realize the vision?