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• Reform of the coal sector by attracting private sector participation in mining and
dumping prices and distribution.
• Diversification of the energy mix as well as increased use of natural gas in the
power generation industry, fertilizer, and other industrial products.
• Greater emphasis on nuclear power generation through the building of six new
nuclear reactors.
• Political and financial assistance in the development of new technologies such as
wind, solar, and biogas energy.
Connect Central Asia Policy
Raja Mohan believes that India’s grand strategy hinges on three gradually enlarging
circles. The first of these centers upon the immediate neighborhood, while the second focuses on the so-called boosted neighborhood stretching across Asia and the
Indian Ocean—an area in which India is interested in creating balance with other
major powers in the region and preventing them from undermining its interests, and
thirdly one which encompasses the entire global stage in which India aims to take
its place as a key player (www.foreignaffairs.com 2016a, b, c, d).
Indian foreign policymakers and analysts believe that the Caspian Sea and
Central Asian region are important not only for energy resources, trade, and economic opportunities but also for the geopolitical security and the maintenance of
age-old cultural and civilizational links. The development of economic, political,
and energy cooperation have however been the main pillars of India’s “extended
neighborhood” policy in the region so far (Denoon 2015:262–263). Taking both
immediate and long-term goals into consideration, then, Indian foreign policymakers have hailed a new strategy called the “Connect Central Asia Policy.” This policy
focuses on building upon past linkages and goodwill among nations and to encourage such cultural bonds to spill over into stronger political and economic relations,
including strategic partnerships and agreements. As E. Ahmadi, Indian Minister of
State for External Affairs outlined in the first India-Central Asia Dialogue in Bishkek
in June 2012, India new Connect Central Asia Policy involves:
• Continuing to build strong political relations through the exchange of high-level
visits.
• Further strengthening political relations with the region.
• Strengthening strategic and security cooperation (military training, joint research,
counterterrorism, close consulting on Afghanistan).
• Setting up multilateral engagements (SCO, Eurasian Customs Union).
• Strengthening cooperation in the medical field.
• Establishing a New Central Asian University in Bishkek.
• Setting up a Central Asian e-network with its hub in India.
• Strengthening private partnerships in sectors like construction and iron and steel.
• Reactivating the International North–South Trade Corridor.
India
• Reform of the coal sector by attracting private sector participation in mining and
dumping prices and distribution.
• Diversification of the energy mix as well as increased use of natural gas in the
power generation industry, fertilizer, and other industrial products.
• Greater emphasis on nuclear power generation through the building of six new
nuclear reactors.
• Political and financial assistance in the development of new technologies such as
wind, solar, and biogas energy.
Connect Central Asia Policy
Raja Mohan believes that India’s grand strategy hinges on three gradually enlarging
circles. The first of these centers upon the immediate neighborhood, while the second focuses on the so-called boosted neighborhood stretching across Asia and the
Indian Ocean—an area in which India is interested in creating balance with other
major powers in the region and preventing them from undermining its interests, and
thirdly one which encompasses the entire global stage in which India aims to take
its place as a key player (www.foreignaffairs.com 2016a, b, c, d).
Indian foreign policymakers and analysts believe that the Caspian Sea and
Central Asian region are important not only for energy resources, trade, and economic opportunities but also for the geopolitical security and the maintenance of
age-old cultural and civilizational links. The development of economic, political,
and energy cooperation have however been the main pillars of India’s “extended
neighborhood” policy in the region so far (Denoon 2015:262–263). Taking both
immediate and long-term goals into consideration, then, Indian foreign policymakers have hailed a new strategy called the “Connect Central Asia Policy.” This policy
focuses on building upon past linkages and goodwill among nations and to encourage such cultural bonds to spill over into stronger political and economic relations,
including strategic partnerships and agreements. As E. Ahmadi, Indian Minister of
State for External Affairs outlined in the first India-Central Asia Dialogue in Bishkek
in June 2012, India new Connect Central Asia Policy involves:
• Continuing to build strong political relations through the exchange of high-level
visits.
• Further strengthening political relations with the region.
• Strengthening strategic and security cooperation (military training, joint research,
counterterrorism, close consulting on Afghanistan).
• Setting up multilateral engagements (SCO, Eurasian Customs Union).
• Strengthening cooperation in the medical field.
• Establishing a New Central Asian University in Bishkek.
• Setting up a Central Asian e-network with its hub in India.
• Strengthening private partnerships in sectors like construction and iron and steel.
• Reactivating the International North–South Trade Corridor.
India