New Delhi, January 17, 2012: ‘Cooperative Geopolitics’ should be the crux of Indian Foreign Policy with relation to Central Asia, it was concluded on the final day of the International conference on India and Eurasia, covering “Energy, Transportation and Economic Links with Eurasia in the context of ongoing and new initiatives, at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) on Tuesday.
Some other relevant recommendations made on the second day included the need for strong bilateral relations with the central Asian countries, development of long term strategies for economic, trade, transportation and energy ties between India and the Central Asian region, and the need for stronger engagement of the Indian Private sector with its extended neighbours.
The seminar concluded that India should look at Central Asia not only for trade and commerce but should work towards forging regional partnerships with the countries in the area.
Several new ideas to deepen Indian connectivity with Eurasia were thrown up. It was suggested that Jammu and Kashmir’s trade, tourism and central links with Central Asia should be revived. India should connect with Xinjiang and Leh–Demchoch route should be opened up.
Experts highlighted the need for India to invest in rail, road and port infrastructure in Iran, particularly at Chabahar and Bandar Abbas.
It was also suggested that India should build long term partnerships with Eurasia, going beyond energy and transportation and focussing on capacity building and soft power projects.
Earlier, Speaking on Opportunities and Challenges in establishing partnerships with the Central Asian region, Ambassador K Raghunath said that there is no dearth natural and human resources in Central Asian countries. There is however a need for exploiting this untapped potential of the region.
The session concentrated on economic cooperation between India and the Central Asian nations, like Kazakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tazikistan Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, especially in the sectors of Energy, Transport and Communications.
Throwing light on Indo-Turkmenistan relations, Amb. Parakhat H. Durdyev of Turkmenistan said that despite India’s and Turkmenistan’s deep historical and cultural bonds, the trade volume between the two countries is at present low and needs to be enhanced.
Ms Darya Mukhamejanova, Senior Fellow, Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies Economic Linkages within the Perspective of India-Kyrgyzstan Relations also spoke on the need of greater linkages between the Central Asian and the South Asian countries.
Speaking on Hydropower Resources and Transport Facilities of Tajikistan and International Cooperation Prospects, Mr Abdunabi Sattorov from the Centre for Strategic Research, Dushanbe, said that India could play a significant role in providing engineering expertise in developing hydro power plants in Tajikastan.
Shukhrat Rakhmanov, Dean of International Law Department, University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Tashkent elaborated upon the improving economic ties between India Uzbekistan, especially in sectors like IT, Energy, Transportation and Telecommunications. He also pointed that Iran could play a significant role in connecting India to Central Asia.
The possibility of Afghanistan emerging as a hub, connecting Central, South and West Asia was also discussed. Mr Sham Bathija, the Economic Advisor to Hamid Karzai expressed hope that Afghanistan's central location would prove beneficial in this regard. Iran's foreign policy was also discussed by Abbas Maleki, who said that Iran's foreign policy was based on pragmatism and cultural relations with its neighbours. He also mentioned that isolation from the west was driving Iran towards regional cooperation with its neighbours. Mr Aftab Kazi from the John Hopkins University also discussed the viability of the Indus basin-Central Asia Corridor, and its viability for India in the coming years
Leading experts from all Central Asian Republics, Mongolia, Russia, Japan, the EU, China, Turkey, Iran, the US and international organizations like the ADB/ESCAP took part in the conference.
‘Cooperative Geopolitics’ with Central Asia Advocated