New Delhi
5 July 2005
Competition for energy resources has heightened New Delhi's desire
for greater economic cooperation with Kazakhstan as the central asian region emerges
as the centre of the 'great game' among world powers. India, which has welcomed the
Kazakh proposal for a Union of central Asian states, sees it as a bulwark for protecting
pan-Asian interests even as it engages in leveraging its traditional strength in IT to
press for greater stake in Kazakhstan's oil.
India, which is already discussing gas pipelines from Iran via Pakistan and from
Myanmar via Bangladesh, is considering a third from central Asia. Representatives of
four supply countries from the region have been invited to New Delhi later this year so
that Asian consumers and suppliers also become coinvestors in Asian energy stakes for
deriving mutual benefits.
"We have followed with deep interest the proposal of Kazakhstan President Nursultan
Nazarbayev for the establishment of a central Asian union. This initiative is part of the
larger process currently underway in Asia for the creation of an Asian Union," External
Affairs Minister Natwar Singh said on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation meet in Astana, the Kazakh capital.
Mr Natwar Singh last visited Kazakhstan in October last year to attend the Conference on
Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Almaty.
Kazakhstan has offered ONGC Videsh Limited either Mahambet or Satpaev oil blocks for
exploration. The company would open its office in Astana soon. New Delhi, which
considers Kazakhstan a strategic partner, believes that energy sector is a key
component of the framework of bilateral development.
The other important sector of bilateral cooperation is IT. Since Indian companies have
achieved good results in IT sector, they can provide technical assistance and
infrastructural support in IT parks in Kazakhstan. A delegation of IT officials from
Kazakhstan visited India in April and held talks with NIIT and NASSCOM besides calling
on ministers in the UPA government.
On February 18 this year, President Nazarbayev in his address to the people of
Kazakhstan had suggested the creation of Union of central Asian states, which has never
been practised in the history of central Asia. Intensification of integration, coordination of
economic reforms by introducing free market, common market of goods, etc expected to
mark this regional grouping.
No comments:
Post a Comment