Regenerating the trade system in the borders of province Sistan and Baluchestan under the strategy of reviving the Silk Road and its implications for optimizing methods of combating smuggling goods

Trade has always been a key element in Iran's economic system. The privileged geographical location and the passage of important trade highways such as the Silk Road through Iran can be considered as one of the reasons for the prosperity of trade and commercial activities in these areas. Sistan and Baluchestan region also had a significant commercial prosperity due to its special geographical location and its position in the important trade routes of the past. But in recent centuries, with the shift of trade from land to sea, these areas have gradually become isolated.
Lack of economic development and job opportunities have led to smuggling and insecurity in Sistan and Baluchestan. As a result, with the spread of smuggling and increasing insecurity, a purely security approach prevailed in the border areas of the province. In order to eliminate the problem of smuggling and reduce insecurity, the present study has studied the idea of reproducing the trade system under the strategy of reviving the Silk Road and changing the security approach to a commercial approach. In this applied research, which has a descriptive approach, library resources, articles and semi-structured interviews were used to collect information and data.
The statistical population of this study is hidden economy experts and academics and for the analysis of the data, obtained from the interviews, the method of Grounded Theory has been used. The results of the analysis of the interviews indicate that connecting to international economic corridors will create jobs and reduce smuggling in the region. Also, facilitating and accelerating trade and achieving endogenous security will be among the results of adopting a trade approach in the Sistan and Baluchestan region, which can be achieved by an active diplomacy in the areas of roads and economy, as well as improving and expanding communication infrastructure under the strategy of reviving the Silk Road or similar projects.