South Asia is home to one of the world’s biggest concentrations of poverty. The subregion’s 1.7 billion people live with limited internal connectivity that remains fragmented and poorly organized. Without upgrading its internal connectivity, the subregion will be unable to capitalize on its potential to be a land bridge connecting Europe with the East, as well as serving as an economic gateway to and through the Central, South-West and South-East Asian countries situated at its boundaries.