India-Central Asia Summit
Recently India-Central Asia Summit was held in virtual form. India has hosted the first India Central Asia Summit through digital medium.
It was attended by the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
It has been organized to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Central Asia.
Key findings of the summit
- It was agreed to hold the summit every two years. An institutional mechanism will be created for this.
- An India-Central Asia Secretariat will be set up in New Delhi to support the new system.
- Joint Working Group will be formed on Afghanistan issue and utilization of Chabahar port.
- There will be further cooperation in the areas of trade and connectivity, development cooperation, defense and security and cultural. This cooperation will be done through the following: exhibition of exhibitions related to Buddhism, joint counter-terrorism exercises etc.
Significance of Central Asia for India
- The region is endowed with commercially viable deposits of minerals like coal, gas, uranium etc.
- This area acts as a buffer zone to contain the effects of fundamentalism. Also, it prevents narco-terrorism from entering India.
- With the Taliban seizing power in Afghanistan, the region’s importance to India was immense.
- With the Taliban taking power in Afghanistan, the region’s importance to India has increased tremendously. Central Asia also has geo-strategic importance. It is located at the contact point of Russia, the Middle East, South Asia and the Far East.
Source – The Hindu
