Caucasian Tigers: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia

2026-05-29

The Four Asian Tigers is a term used to describe the highly developed economies of South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Hong Kong and Singapore have become the world's leading trading centers, while South Korea and Taiwan have advanced in the production of information technology.

Ireland has followed a similar path of economic development to the "Asian Tigers", which is why it was called the Celtic Tiger. The term Baltic Tigers is used to describe the economies of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The 21st century is associated with multipolar changes in the world: from the era of Columbus to the Silk Road.

Stone Lion

The Silk Road in Armenia facilitated the mutual influence of Christian, Persian, Arab and Byzantine cultures. In the Middle Ages, Armenian merchants had a great influence on trade between the East and the West. The future of modern Armenia is the project "Crossroads of Peace", with the key role of the dry port of Gyumri.

Fiery Tiger

The main junction of the Caspian Sea, with the port of Alyat and energy carriers. Goods from China, Central Asia and the Middle East passed here to Europe. The country has historically been a melting pot of Turkish, Persian, Arab and European cultures.

Caucasian Panther

The gateway to Europe through trade diplomacy and the Black Sea. A center of harmonious fusion of Occident and Orient, where Eastern and Western culture, religion, science and art spread. In the Middle Ages, it protected the security of trade routes, which contributed to its political and economic strengthening. Today, it is an EU aspirant and a country of the "Iron Silk Road" (BTK).

The elegant, agile, proud and mysterious "Caucasian Panther", the energetic "Fire Tiger" and the monumental "Stone Lion" of will carved into the rock - the modern Caucasian Tigers of civilizational symbols, TRACECA and the Eastern Partnership - mean the restoration of the well-forgotten Old and New Silk Roads.

Geoeconomics

According to the vision of the French thinker and the first president of the EBRD, Jacques Attal, in a globalized world, borders are losing their original meaning. Instead, the economic exploitation of space and control of the following strategic foci come to the fore:

● The location of world exchanges and financial centers;

● Control of strategic resources and minerals;

● The location of global information and technological hubs.

According to Attal, after the end of the Cold War, the old geopolitics was replaced by geoeconomics, where the struggle of states for influence is carried out not by seizing territories, but by economic leverage, investments, capital circulation and gaining advantage in the global market.

The strategic foci recommended by Atal and their placement, for a harmonious order between Europe and Asia in a new, multipolar world, are the future of the Caucasian Tigers:

● World Stock Exchanges - Georgia

● Minerals Management - Azerbaijan

● Technology Hubs - Armenia

Zurab Maghradze