The Forgotten Old and New Silk Road

It is known that one of the trade caravans passed through Georgia in 568. In the 12th century, as a result of the liberal reforms of the Georgian king David the Builder, which consisted in: limiting feudal lords, increasing private property for the people, and establishing tax breaks for foreign merchants; trade between peoples developed. The idea of ​​a free market born in Georgia in the Middle Ages was justified, and between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, Georgia, on the one hand, became a southern gateway for European crusaders, and on the other hand, for the East, Georgia was a kind of converter of Asian capital to European markets. This fact is confirmed by the unique silver coin of the first king of a united Georgia, Bagrat III (975–1014), on the obverse of which is written in Arabic “There is no God but One, He has no partner”; On the reverse, the Arabic inscription “Muhammad is the Messenger of God” is accompanied by the following in Georgian script: “Christ, praise Bagrat, King of the Abkhazians”. The coin is kept in the Hermitage (St. Petersburg).

A similar coin, with praises to Allah on one side and Christ on the other, probably does not exist anywhere else. This fact also indicates the uniqueness of the Georgian nation as the only European-Asian nation. However, this is not all. Even before the birth of Christ, a silver coin - the Colchian tetri - was minted in ancient Georgia in the 6th century.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the process of expanding the European Union began. This was followed by the promotion of such continental programs as the Eastern Partnership, TRACECA (Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia), CASCA (Central Asia-South Caucasus-Anatolia), GUAM Free Trade Area, Middle Corridor, Viking Train, Southwest Corridor, and others.

The economies of today's European Union and today's China are each worth around $19 trillion. To this are added the industries of Great Britain, Norway, Turkey, the Arab world, Iran, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, the "Asian Tigers" and Central Asian countries in continental trade. Connecting disparate realities requires courage. This courage is achieved through the appropriate order in the development of investment and trade.

Georgia, along with Ukraine and Moldova, is an EU candidate country, which is obliged to implement the recommendations of the European Commission, including de-oligarchization. The recommendation involves the transition from a distributive economy to a market economy, which should facilitate investment and trade between Europe and Asia.

In parallel with this process, talks have begun on opening the borders between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and Armenia and Turkey. Iran is also trying to design transit routes with both Armenia and Azerbaijan. In addition, Armenia is working on developing free trade opportunities with Iran and India. Negotiations have also begun between the EU and India on a free trade agreement, which should be completed in December 2025. This is complemented by EU initiatives in Central Asia. In 2024 and 2025, within the framework of the Global Gateway, European and international institutions have allocated a total of 22 billion euros to support sustainable connectivity in Central Asia, with a focus on the development of the Middle Corridor. As well as critical raw materials and environmental protection projects.

The above facts indicate that the Caucasus is becoming an economic connector of major global markets, which will increase both its capabilities and responsibilities.

In the medium and long term, all three countries of the South Caucasus - Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia - will provide transport and logistics spaces to service trade caravans and generate revenues. However, for global investors, it is important that the financing of such transit infrastructure is regulated by the free capital market. This means that investment decisions in ports, railways, hydroelectric power plants, highways, energy carriers and similar projects should be made on the stock and loan markets - banks independent of the state, as well as on independent exchanges. The investment environment is strengthened by stock and currency exchanges, and the exchange of goods - by the commodity exchange.

The challenge for all three countries of the South Caucasus is to adapt to the new order of global trade. It is in the interest of all three countries to respond to the orders of global markets with high quality and competitive prices. And competition is the basis for development and success.

In addition to the great prospects of the Georgian deep-sea port project on the Black Sea, there are no less than two other projects - the Black Sea Green Cable and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. The first is the Renewable Energy Road, and the second is the Iron Silk Road.

Finally, the most important thing - as geopolitics specialist Teimuraz Zakradze calls the "Golden Section" of the Silk Road, this is the shortest railway line between Asia and Europe with the route: Tbilisi-Samtredia-Sukhumi-Adler-Sochi-Kharkov. It is because of this "golden section" that the free world decided to restore order on the Silk Road.

Zurab Maghradze, Ph.D.