New Silk Road Initiative

The New Silk Road Initiative was a United States initiative in the 2010s that aimed to integrate Afghanistan with Central Asia, boosting trade and economic development. Originally developed by the staff of General David Petraeus at the United States Central Command, it was formally announced by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2011 in a speech in Chennai. However, the initiative never got off the ground. General Jim Mattis cancelled all military funding after Petraeus retired, and the US State Department lacked the funds to implement the projects. The term "New Silk Road" is now commonly used by journalists to refer to China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Key projects that were previously linked to the US initiative were later funded by other sources. The CASA-1000 hydroelectricity project is being funded by a consortium led by the International Development Association. The United States contributed 1% of the cost of the project before it pulled out, making it the smallest of seven funding sources. The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India Pipeline (TAPI) is being funded by a consortium led by the Asian Development Bank. Contrary to a conspiracy theory that was posted to Facebook in 2021, the United States has provided no funding to TAPI.