The Northern Distribution Network and Its Implications for Latvia

The Northern Distribution Network (NDN), a network of transportation
lines to supply and redeploy military missions in landlocked Afghanistan,
has been considered an outstanding civil-military cooperation project
that has no parallels. Military and civilian institutions and commercial
companies from multiple countries have joined forces to run
transcontinental transportation chains through Eurasia to and from
Afghanistan.
Although it has faced different challenges – including political,
bureaucratic, technical and natural challenges – the NDN has served both
as a secure alternative and, for a certain period of time, as a substitute to
the fragile and vulnerable ground lines through Pakistan. Apart from the
primary effect mentioned above, it has also had other direct and indirect
positive effects, including promoting interaction and confidence building
among global and regional actors, economic benefits throughout the
transit corridors, and the emergence of prospects for the commercialization
of the NDN.
This article explores a range of different aspects of the NDN, including
its establishment, the transportation lines it includes, the major actors
involved, the volumes and types of cargo transported through it, the
opportunities it provides and the challenges it has faced. Last but not
least, the role of Latvia and the significance of this network to Latvia is
also further explored.