Escobar: Eurasian Heartland Rises To Challenge The West

The new spirit of nationalism and connectivity that has been spreading across the Heartland due to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has the potential to counter-act external interference and terrorism. Xi Jinping in Xian stressed the connection between BRI and SCO suggesting that all Central Asian “stans” should cooperate to promote these initiatives. The BRI aims at providing Middle Corridor connectivity helping to revive the Heartland Belt. The Heartland Belt was initially created in the first half of the first millennium BC when the Persian Achaemenid Empire established itself as the largest empire to date, spanning Asia, Africa, and Europe. This led to a boom in trade, cultural interactions, and ethnic connections leading to the establishment of the first transcontinental thoroughfare – the Ancient Silk Road. Today, China and Russia are developing their own plans for the Heartland, which is likely to lead to significant progress in trade, industries, and cultural exchanges in the region.



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