Iraq, Thailand, India: The Corridor War Has Begun

For more than 150 years, the Suez Canal in Egypt has been the key to trade between Europe and Asia. But a new project has recently been launched that aims to transform the current course of trade routes, turning Iraq into a new hub of international trade. Iraq’s bold plan is to build what some are calling a new Silk Road. A modernized network of roads and railroads that will stretch 1,200 kilometers from the Persian Gulf through Baghdad and Turkey to Europe. Estimated at nearly $17 billion, this mega-project includes the construction of one of the world’s largest ports. However, both the Iraqi Prime Minister and the Turkish President seem to agree that this new road is well worth the investment, as it will ultimately significantly develop the region’s economy. Thailand These waters are home to an incessant flow of container ships. Every eight minutes, a ship passes through what is surely the main artery of world maritime trade. It is not the Panama Canal or Egypt’s S