Situation in Afghanistan, peace, stability tops agenda of meet between NSAs of India-Central Asian nations

New Delhi, Dec 06: National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval will be meeting with his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan today. During the meeting which is of utmost importance, the security situation in Afghanistan would get top billing. The situation in Afghanistan is particularly concerning and the NSAs will discuss the issue in-depth, The maiden one-day NSA meeting comes in the backdrop of the first summit held in January this year between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the presidents of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The developments are important as India perceive Central Asia as part of its extended neighbourhood. India and the Central Asian countries have shared interests in peace and security in Afghanistan. Moreover the Central Asian countries share land borders with Afghanistan and have been facing problems following the swift pullout of the US troops which resulted in a chaotic security situation in Kabul.

Also on the agenda of the meeting is the improvement of connectivity with the Central Asian countries. This would also include the importance of the Chabahar Port and integrating the same with the International North-South Transport Corridor and other alternatives for improving connectivity with Central Asia, reports (afghan-situation-terror-to-top-agenda-at-maiden-meet-of-india-central-asian-nsas-101670247579602-amp.html) said. The report while citing officials said that it is important to take forward the cooperation in a comprehensive manner. Further India is also marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with the Central Asian nations.

At the first summit, India and the Central Asian States decided to create a working group for cooperation on Afghanistan and an institutionalised framework for collaboration in diverse areas ranging from connectivity to security. PM Modi had during the January summit listed three main objectives, to make it clear that mutual cooperation between India and Central Asia is essential for regional security and prosperity, to create an effective structure for cooperation and to create an ambitious road map for future collaboration.

Of late India has sharpened its focus on the Central Asian states to counter the growing presence of China in the region and also to strengthen cooperation over Afghanistan after the Taliban took over in mid-August 2021.