SUMMARY
The study reviews transit transport cooperation in Central Asia. Central Asia has a growing number of transit transport options. In addition to the traditional rail and road connections through the Russian Federation, it now has rail and road links through the Islamic Republic of Iran, rail and road routes, through China and road option through China to Pakistan and India. The impact of these routes in opening up Central Asia for trade has been significant. Improving their efficiency by removing physical infrastructure bottlenecks and non-physical barriers in order to minimize the cost of transport will enable them to make an even greater contribution to trade expansion. Central Asia has received substantial financial and technical support from the international community. However, logistical, transaction and administrative costs have absorbed a large proportion of resources, estimated at between 60 and 70 per cent of project funds, the time now appears to be ripe for a re-evaluation in order to improve the way aid, in particular technical assistance, is designed and delivered
