There are no precise figures on tariff limits contained in the deal nor is there an exact time frame for the establishment of the permanent secretariat, although it is expected to be in place by the end of the year. The agreement has been deliberately kept vague and is, as the name implies, basic. Organizers regard the Baku meeting a watershed of sorts, and hope that it will provide the impetus for a rapid increase in joint infrastructure projects and trade. Its purpose was to increase regional trade and re-foster broken ties in the wake of the Soviet collapse. But five years hence, the new Silk Road has become a reality and trade along it has already exceeded initial expectations.
Problems still exist.
Several strategic countries along the route did not send their highest representatives to the conference, among them China and Kazakhstan. Turkmenistan did not send anyone. In addition, the final agreement signed by both Armenian Prime Minister Armen Darbinyan and Azerbaijani President Heydaar Aliyev contains a codicil which gives Baku the right to invalidate the main points in relation to the transport of goods to and from Armenia. Moreover, its was said at the conference that Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, who had jointly promoted the ideal of a Silk Route summit with President Aliyev, was unhappy at Aliyev's attempt to steal the spotlight. He did not.