Home Editorial Editorial: A Glimpse of Pax Sinica?

Editorial: A Glimpse of Pax Sinica?

Central Asia and South Asia stand to gain from Iran’s normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia

by Editorial

File photo of the Chabahar Port. Atta Kenare—AFP

The China-brokered peace accord between Iran and Saudi Arabia has already started paying dividends, as the former foes revive diplomatic relations. Since the deal was inked, Iran has formalized ties with the Taliban government in Afghanistan, granting them access to the Afghan embassy in Tehran. Meanwhile, Iranian ally Syria’s President Bashar Assad has officially visited the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which has reversed course from its earlier opposition to him and announced it will re-open its embassy in Damascus.

Additionally, the foreign minister of Uzbekistan met the Iranian foreign and industry ministers and voiced an aim to double trade turnover to $1 billion and foster business links and people-to-people ties. Riyadh and Tehran have also committed to ending the war in Yemen, while Iran’s resolving of mass protests from last year has given it space to focus on economic growth and reform and work toward realizing President Ebrahim Raisi’s stated policy of increased engagement with Asia.

Key to Iran’s prosperity is its increasing attractiveness to landlocked Central Asian republics seeking additional trade routes. Initially, the aim was to connect Central Asia with South Asia through Afghanistan and Pakistan, but the return to power of the Taliban and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have triggered a search for alternative routes. The obvious choice are the Iranian ports of Chabahar and Bandar Abbas, which are free from extremist violence and have a large market of consumers.

Afghanistan is taking note of these changes, with the Taliban’s defense and interior ministers urging their supreme leader to expedite reforms or risk “consequences.” This is all just a start; as more countries align with China’s initiatives, the region could soon see a new era of peace and prosperity instead of the conflict that had loomed on the horizon.

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