Policy Brief
Asia’s Rise to Economic Prominence: Stakes for South Asia
by: Saad Rajput
Date: January 22, 2021
Asia’s Resurgence
Longer term analyses of globalisation demonstrate how historical supply chains have sustained across regions,
and exerted transformative influence over geographies that aligned their production and knowledge systems with them. Many of Pakistan’s modern-day metropolises were well marked on ancient trade routes, and continue to facilitate regional commerce across borders today. Cities like Peshawar, Multan and Lahore have prospered through millennia in tandem with interconnected South and West Asian communities.
Pakistan’s bid for deepening economic cooperation in the region and beyond will benefit by reading where the rest of South Asia stands in comparison, as well as recognising the many opportunities available within wider Asia. While CPEC presents a sure-footed path to prosperity, Pakistan’s trade policy must also leverage the phenomenal growth witnessed in so many Asian economies, and enable integration within their supply chains.