From HimalMag
''The revival of the Great Silk Road was first mooted by the European Commission (EC) in 1991 after the disintegration of the former Soviet Union when the Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – became independent nations. The EC's Silk Road proposed to connect Europe with Central Asia through the International Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA). The project was announced in Brussels, Belgium in 1993, and was followed by an international conference on 'Restoration of the Historic Silk Route' five years later in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Talk of ‘restoring’ the earlier Silk Road, however, is misleading, as multiple visions for the Road are emerging in response to ever-changing geo-politics. In 1999, for instance, the US introduced the 'Silk Road Strategy Act', which aimed to secure long-term US interests in Central Asia and the South Caucasus by strengthening energy security and keeping Russia at bay. Emphasising the need for political and economic independence for the Central Asian countries, the Act aimed to promote regional stability through conflict resolution, economic assistance and infrastructure development, and by developing defence capabilities, securing borders and controlling proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.''
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