It has been a hard sell, for a variety of reasons. Obviously, the political and economic context for regional cooperation has been very difficult. But another less obvious reason is that UNDP has lacked the resources to make a real difference.
Money helps enormously in bringing people to the table.
A large amount of money is needed to step beyond the table and get on with the business of realising regional projects. This is especially the case with infrastructure. Existing airports, harbours, ports, railroads, highways, bridges and pipelines date mainly from the pre-Second World War and Cold War era. In short, there is a very substantial need for infrastructure investment, and the requirements are far beyond the savings and borrowing capacity of area governments. A large infusion of capital is urgently needed.