India’s ‘Connect Central Asia Policy’: Emerging Economic and Security Dimensions

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Central Asia is strategically positioned as an access between Europe and Asia and offers extensive potential for trade, investment and growth. The region is richly endowed with commodities such as crude oil, natural gas, cotton, gold, copper, aluminum and iron. The increasing importance of the region's oil and gas resources has generated new rivalries among external powers. A scramble for resources has begun in the Central Asia between Russia and other external players like US, China resulting in a Great Game rivalry. India wants to gain a foothold in the region for its huge energy reserves and also to secure a stable extended neighbourhood in Afghanistan. Today in the post-cold war years, India is increasingly looking toward Central Asia as both a reliable source of oil and natural gas and a focus of its strategic interests in Asia. Trade and economic ties with the landlocked Central Asia are point of interest for India. In this age of globalization, economic ties hold the key to any bilateral, trilateral and multilateral cooperation. Both India and Central Asia share common perceptions about the need to have friendship and mutually advantageous economic relations especially in the backdrop of globalization. Through its 'connect Central Asia Policy', New Delhi aims to actively take part in Central Asia's regional cooperation and security arrangements. This paper attempts to highlight the need for India's holistic approach towards Central Asia with in a neo-liberal framework in the context of globalization. commodities such as crude oil, natural gas, cotton, gold, copper, aluminum and iron. The increasing importance of the region's oil and gas resources has generated new interests and rivalries among external powers. Central Asia is also a strong market for millions of consumers. India can benefit immensely out of promoting stronger ties with the countries of the region. Direct Indian-Central Asian link were limited during the Soviet period. In the backdrop of Indo-Soviet special friendship, New Delhi was virtually present in the everyday lives of Central Asia through television, movies, music and cultural exchanges. (Laruelle(10)) In the immediate post-Soviet years India's presence in the region became symbolic. Things however started changing since later part of 1990s when the major powers namely the US and China made inroads into the region in various ways that led to the rise of 'New Great Game' with Russia, China and the US vying over security and energy interests in a politically unstable region. India, though not a party to this great game rivalry, took keen interest in Central Asia primarily in view of its huge ever growing energy requirements. In brief, apart from economic factors, Central Asia is important to India because of its strategic location, geographical proximity and of its energy resources. Therefore, restoring traditional linkages with Central Asia has been one of the primary strategic priorities before India today. It is in this backdrop, this paper will highlight the need for India's holistic approach towards Central Asia with in a neo-realist framework. This write up also attempts to explore the concerns and interests that motivates India's recent efforts to step up its engagements in Central Asia. The paper tries to find out answers of the following key questions: (a) How should India, a late comer, strategize its arrival on the Central Asian scenario? (b) What should be India's approach towards key external players - Russia, China and the US - in the region? (c) How far it is true that Central Asia could promote India's energy security to a considerable extent?