UNITED NATIONS, Jul 10 2025 (IPS) - Once landlocked, now connected, the UN Global Compact has bridged the gap between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East: having many call it the “New Silk Road”.

On June 22nd, the UN Global Compact launched their Central Asia Network to drive SDG progress, connecting more than 140 participant companies to the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. This initiative will offer the tools and resources necessary to drive business practices which are sustainable and in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Kazakhstan will serve as the initiative’s multi-country office connecting Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Previously operating separately in silos, these five nations will now be part of a unified platform integrating a green economic strategy and promoting regional development.

“By launching a Country Network here, we are anchoring responsible investment and sustainability into this dynamic corridor, “ said Sanda Ojiambo, CEO and Executive Director of the UN Global Compact. “We are harnessing the region’s untapped private-sector potential to drive green growth, improve transparency and foster social cohesion.”

This region holds immense capabilities. As sixty percent of people in the region are under age thirty, this offers a powerful human capital to support a new generation of job creation, infrastructure development, and supply chain capabilities.

The Belt and Road Initiative: a new ally

In 2023, The UN Global Compact and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) formalized a partnership in Beijing, designed to align infrastructure development with long-term sustainability.

As part of this initiative, two tools were introduced:

· Global Compact Ten Principles Applied in Infrastructure Sectors under the BRI: A Practical Guide for Private Sector Players.
· Maximizing Impact towards the SDGs: Guidance and Assessment Tool for Companies to Advance Sustainable Infrastructure under the Belt and Road Initiative.

These resources give private sector actors a strategy to not only reach the SGDs, but also further develop infrastructure planning, finance and project implementation, thereby advancing regional connectivity.

The results of this are happening fast. During a summit held in Astana on June 22, President of Xinhua News Agency Fu Hua exchanged a cooperation agreement with Arman Kyrykbayev, Assistant to the President of Kazakhstan, which outlined a collaboration facilitating big data-computing centers, and the creation of a China-Kazakhstan Exchange and Cooperation Center. The new hub will support the facilitation of trade, currency settlement, and cross border intellectual property transactions, reflecting BRI’s vital role in molding a more connected and integrated central Asia. The center is only one of four key regional centers that were launched under the umbrella of China-Central Asia collaboration, with the other three dedicated to poverty reduction, education exchange and desertification control.

In that same week, speaking in Astana, President Xi Jinping of China introduced the “China-Central Asia Spirit,” which he characterized it as a show of “mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual benefit and mutual assistance for the joint pursuit of modernization through high-quality development”. During the summit, Xi, and the leaders of five Central Asian countries signed the treaty of permanent good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation, formalizing a shared vision for an expansive future.

The impact of these economic and diplomatic participations has been clear. China-Central Asia trade in 2024 reached 94.8 billion USD, yielding an increase of 5.4 billion dollars from the previous year. In perspective, this volume of trade is the equivalent of Uzbekistan’s entire GDP, a staggering development for a region previously left behind in the world of trade and commerce.

Infrastructure: the rails and ships of now

While policy and values have paved the way, infrastructure is laying the foundation. New railway and freight hubs are rapidly transforming Central Asia from a previously landlocked entity to a vital logistics mega hub.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and the China-Europe Caspian Sea Express are examples of this. These new routes link Central Asia to the Middle East, South Asia, and Europe, expanding its market access exponentially. Chinese cities are opening freight train routes and direct flights to Central Asia, further enhancing supply chains, and making travel ever more efficient.

On June 30, the China-Europe Caspian Sea Express launched, making its multimodal journey to its destination in Baku from Beijing. The journey took approximately fifteen days, cutting travel by more than half. The train was loaded with 104 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), carrying approximately 2,300 tons of export goods, journeying across more than 8,000 kilometers. The corridor will also distribute cargo to Georgia, Türkiye and Serbia, among other regional entities.

The reality of regional cooperation

The transformation of Central Asian supply chains is not theoretical. This is happening in real time, with a new agreement being signed each day. While once fragmented and landlocked, Central Asia is becoming the new bridge between the East and the West: fast tracking expansion globally. Through the coordination of the UN Global Compact, China’s BRI, and regional partnerships, Central Asia has become the new hub for green innovation, sustainable trade, and youth driven economic revitalization.

IPS UN Bureau Report