Central Eurasia, Afghanistan and Pakistan: Connectivity and Cooperation is the Name of the Game

Muslim countries of the Central Eurasia have an unusually important role to play in the cultural revival, economic development and security of the Muslim World and the Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle East.
The Muslim Central Eurasia consists of six countries i.e. Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. Besides these six countries, the Chinese autonomus region of Xinjiang is also a part of the Muslim Central Eurasia. China’s friendly disposition and economic, political and security interest in the region adds to the international significance of the Muslim Central Eurasia.
Connectivity with the rest of the world is the most important need of the region in order to tap its actual economic, political and security potential. Afghanistan and North Western and Western Pakistan are the closest, contiguous adjacent regions of the Muslim Central Eurasia. A good transport and communications infrastructure shall play a critical role in connecting the whole place. Cyber connectivity shall be of a vital significance in this regard.
A huge potential for Intraregional trade has been established by recent scholarship. Fossil fuels, energy, minerals, agricultural products, livestocks are one important set of tradeable goods in the region.
Trade in services offers another vital area of exchanges. Tourism, Science andTechnology, culture and educational exchanges, again, hold a huge potential for intraregional cooperation.
Financial coonectivity has been relatively modest. More intraregional banking and fnancial networks can enhance the prospects for economic cooperation and integration in the region. The ASEAN, the EU and the GCC are good models to emulate for this purpose. The 10 member Economic Cooperation Organization, the ECO, is a reasonably good organization but it has been operating with fits and starts. It needs to be extended, enhanced and empowered more in order to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.
The region faces some common transnational challenges such as climate change, water insecurity, deforestation, environmental pollution and ecological degradation.
Similarly, terrorism, militancy, extremism, political violence, drugs trade and organized crime are other transnational problems of common interest and concerns across the region. Only more intraregional connectivity, cooperation and exchanges can lead the various peoples and nations of the region to address these challenges.
People to people contacts are an elementary bedrock on which to build regional and transnational cooperation in our modern times. The internet and information age technologies offer excellent tools and instruments for connecting people across regions today. Central Eurasia, Afghanistan and Pakistan have a large youth population who are internet savvy and good at using information age technologies. These young people should be linked with each other in order to better connect the whole region. The regional academia, media people, influencers and the civil society, at large, has to play its due role in this regard. The Muslim countries of Central Eurasia, Afgahnistan and Pakistan have all a glorious history of achievements. They hold a tremendous potential for economic, cultural, political and scientific attainments. Regional connectivity and cooperation are the fundamental needs for tapping this potential. As denizens of this very promising region, we sholud take all measures to better understand and connect with each other.