Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif is staying true to his word to make repairing the economy his first priority. Since June last year the PM has been on an almost non-stop series of foreign visits, summits, conferences and meetings — 12 so far — and while not all were focused on economic and trade relationships, the economy has often been at the forefront of his contributions to discussions. His latest trip to the Boao Asia Forum is the third specifically trade and economy related visit he has made so far and follows on the heels of his participation in the Connect Asia-Pacific Summit 2013 in Thailand. Both these forums highlight the need for increasing interconnectivity between Asian economies, the former focused on the Asian hinterland of Central Asia, Russia and western China, while the latter focused on South East Asia. Pakistan is in the unique position of being able to connect both these regions economically, financially and in other ways that could be a game changer for the Pakistani economy, a fact the PM was at pains to highlight at Boao when he spoke about the development of a ‘New Silk Road’ and the economic benefits it could have. The old Silk Road was a trade route between China and Europe that enriched countries and empires straddling it. The New Silk Road is already emerging, as a rail line between China and Germany opened recently with the trade balance firmly favouring China. In this context, PM Sharif’s comments about reducing tariff barriers, travel restrictions, and increasing development of trade-related necessities like roads and energy transfer mechanisms ring true. The potential benefits to Pakistan in this emerging economic picture are nothing short of revolutionary, as Pakistan provides the ideal trade route for goods and energy from the landlocked Asian hinterland to the rest of the world. One aspect that the PM did not talk about at Boao, which former President Pervez Musharraf focused on in interactions with regional leaders, is Pakistan’s potential as a financial centre and an information highway connecting Central Asia to South East Asia, another aspect of the New Silk Road. Within the scope of this vision, Pakistan is fortunate in its geography; however the country’s political troubles, which are fast becoming regional troubles, need to be dealt with in order for any part of this vision to come true. First, any energy and trade corridor into western China must begin in Gwadar and in order to be economically feasible, must traverse the insurgency-stricken province of Balochistan. Given Balochistan’s instability and the focus of militants on soft targets such as railroads, gas pipelines and roads, finding a political solution to Baloch grievances and ensuring they see the benefits of any development in the province must be a priority. The government must also act to put an end to the tribal areas insurgency and eliminate the ideological militants who threaten to destabilise not just Pakistan, but Afghanistan and other Central Asian republics as well. The Taliban now represent an existential threat to Pakistan’s economic future and its integration into, and benefits from, the global economy, something Mr Sharif will need to keep in mind as negotiations with the terrorists continue. Also of great importance is creating secure information systems if Pakistan is to realise its potential as a financial and information hub. This requires passing stringent cybercrimes and financial crimes regulations and ensuring that neither can be held hostage to the whims of political actors; the free flow of information must be protected and arbitrary bans of information sources are no longer feasible. Karachi is ideally suited to play this role, and can also benefit from connecting the Gulf Arab countries into regional economic cooperation. However, to achieve this, the law and order situation in Karachi must be brought under control immediately and political turf wars ended. Relations with India, focusing on trade cooperation, must be improved. A comprehensive strategy for economic growth requires addressing these multiple concerns and while Mr Sharif has the vision, he now must sit down with his advisors, and eventually regional leaders, to work through the nitty-gritty of implementation and conflict resolution that will achieve it. *