A new and expanded Silk Road is beginning to emerge across Eurasia. Latvia is poised to profit as its primary mediator of economic, political, and social relations. Stretching across Eurasia from Japan in the East, to the EU and it largest trading partner North America in the West, the potential for expanding trade is enormous. Latvia can embrace this opportunity to handle this commerce, or see competing Baltic cities possessing significant advantages seize this historic moment. The Baltic cities and states that first capitalize on their intermediary role between East and West in this reemerging Silk Road will secure advantages quickly, and perhaps permanently. It is important to be first. Early branding will fix in place Latvia as a primary position in this system. To do so will require a strategy. We began with a presentation at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga on the historic importance of the Silk Road. Professor David Kalivas, a prominent Central Asian specialist on the Silk Road delivered this keynote lecture on March 15, 2005. This lecture’s purpose was to introduce the Eurasian-wide Silk Road concept to an informed public.

We then propose a seminar for the fall of 2005 that will explore the prospects for Latvia to be a major center of a reconstructed transit trade poised to profit from this new opportunity. We would invite the principal actors concerned from government, finance, diplomatic corps, shipping, transit, etc., to hold a strategy session on how to realize this goal of expanding Latvia’s transit trade. We would follow up with country and trade sector specific seminars in the future. Furthermore, we envision creating a center at SSE-Riga to generate the knowledge, future policymakers, entrepreneurs, and professionals to cultivate conditions for continued strong economic growth through transit trade. Such a center could aggressively move to develop plans for Latvia to exploit opportunities presented by its entry into the EU and its distinctive geography equidistant between Berlin and Moscow, but also its central position that could connect Eurasia, from Japan to China, Central Asia to West Europe, and perhaps even in a TransAtlantic context, North America. With its independence now fully guaranteed by EU and NATO membership, Latvia can confidently reestablish its historical linkages to both West and East without fear of losing sovereignty and create new connections too. From this position of strength and security it can now expand East/West relations and prosper in the process. A center can create a network of SSE Riga students and future professionals with specialized political economy training allowing them to realize this vision. We can draw upon this reservoir of talent to produce on a sustained basis quality research proposals focused on promoting Latvia’s transit trade. In undertaking our work we could build on already established connections with other policy and academic centers around the world engaged in the study of the global political economy of trade. In the process, the ensuing prosperity would have the added benefit of easing Latvian/Russian relations, thus promoting Latvia’s political stability and alleviating EU and US concerns about this issue.

Activities:

• Public Relations/Education: Identify ways to enhance and promote Riga and Latvia’s transit role within an expanded Eurasian-wide trade zone. Media, conferences, and research seminars used to achieve this end. Expert use of public relations, not just publicity, to raise awareness of central importance of transit to Latvia’s economies, but also to the collective interests of all Eurasian nations. Focus on directing EU and Latvian government funds on transit infrastructure.
• Research: Utilize SSE Riga students as resource to identify, research, and publicize comparative advantage of Riga’s Port and Latvian transit. Identify thesis topics students can develop to explore new niches for Latvia transit activity and publicize globally with our SSE Riga Working Papers series, while creating new research talent and awareness focused on transit opportunities.
• Specialists: Network global specialists on public and private partnerships on transit infrastructure funding to facilitate its further development. Examples: Olavs Ritenis on private financing and Dr. Michael Hudson and Ted Gwartney on public financing.
• Networks: Provide independent networking function between Latvian transit interests facilitating communication and strategic planning among individual parties that may have little history of cooperation with each other. Also establish networks across Eurasia.
• Conferences: Plan an execute conferences/seminars highlighting Latvia’s comparative advantage as transit site linking Eurasia in trade. A general meeting is needed to illuminate Latvia’s role, with subsequent meetings held by sector (energy, rail, container, shipping, etc.) matched bi-lateral sessions focused on deepening national relationships with Latvia.