Modi and Jinping emphasized the importance of Central Asian countries

Five Central-Asian countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan - attended a conference hosted by India. Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with four of these countries on January 25. In the talks between India and five Central-Asian countries, it has been agreed to deal with regional cooperation and the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Central-Asian countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan were involved in this virtual conference hosted by India on January 27. Both India and China are working to strengthen their reach in Central Asia. According to the Chinese news agency Xinhua, on January 25, the Chinese President spoke to the leaders of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. India currently does not have a way to reach Central Asia by land. Pakistan does not allow India to use the road route to reach Afghanistan and Central Asia.

In such a situation, India intends to increase access to Central Asia by sea route. In the conference, cooperation has been agreed in the Chabahar Port project of Iran being developed under the supervision of India. These five Central-Asian countries, including Afghanistan, are surrounded by land, so Chabahar Port is also a good opportunity for them to increase access to the sea. The Indian Foreign Ministry said that it has been agreed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the five leaders to form a common working group for Chabahar Port. India has been a major ally of Afghanistan before the Taliban rule. In such a situation, the big objective of developing Iran's Chabahar Port for India is to do business in this area and maintain its presence. A major port is being built in Gwadar, Pakistan, about 80 km from Chabahar.

Pakistan is developing it with Chinese money. It is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's ambitious 'One Belt, One Road' project. In such a situation, Central Asia is of great importance in terms of trade, strategic strategy, and diplomacy. This is the reason why India and China are trying hard to strengthen their hold here. India has recently decided to spend $ 500 million for laying a network of railway lines and roads in the area of ​​Chabahar Port. In a joint statement issued after the conference, all countries have committed to building a "rightly representative, inclusive government" for Afghanistan. The deteriorating economic condition of the country, including women, children, and minorities in Afghanistan, remains a major concern after the Taliban took control.

There is also an apprehension that Afghanistan's land under Taliban rule could be used to spread terrorism and supply drugs to neighboring countries. Apart from this, it has been agreed in the conference on cooperation in maritime transport, information technology, energy and health sectors. Before this summit, India had hosted the Foreign Minister level conference in December 2021. India has diplomatic relations with these five countries. India has given a loan of $ 450 million to Uzbekistan to develop sewage systems, roads, and the IT sector. Apart from this, in 2020, it was announced to invest $ 1 billion for development in energy, technology, health, and transportation sectors in these five countries. RS/RP (AP, IANS).