Ananta Insights | China-Central Asia Cooperation Continues to Expand by Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar | September 2025
China and Central Asia organized the second bilateral Summit (the first having been held in Xian, China on 18-19 May, 2023) in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan on June 17. The leaders of China and the five Central Asian States reaffirmed their shared commitment to a long-term strategic partnership. This was formalized through the signing […]
Ananta Insights | India Reaches Out to Central Asia by Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar | June 2025
Introduction The 4th meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue was held in New Delhi on 6th June, 2025. The Meeting was chaired by India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr. S Jaishankar and attended by the foreign ministers of the five Central Asian nations. The 3rd Meeting of the Dialogue was held way back in New Delhi in December, […]
Ananta Insights | EU-Central Asia Relations: A Rapidly Expanding Partnership by Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar | May 2025
Introduction Over the past decades, EU engagement with Central Asia has slowly but steadily developed from limited engagement to a vibrant partnership. This is true particularly in the fields of trade, energy, investment, and development aid. The EU is now one of the most important partners for Central Asian countries in these and some other […]
Ananta Insights | China-Central Asia Relations: An Expanding Partnership by Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar | April 2025
Introduction Relations of China with the five Central Asian states—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan—have witnessed impressive growth over the thirty-four years since Central Asia attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Historically China and the Central Asian region enjoyed close relations with exchange of goods, ideas, thoughts and culture, particularly during the […]
Ananta Insights | India-Central Asia Connectivity and the Role of INSTC by Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar | March 2025
Introduction Central Asia is an integral element of India’s extended neighborhood. India has enjoyed millennia old historical, cultural, economic and civilizational links with Central Asia. Although the Connect Central Asia Policy was launched in 2012, the region started attracting renewed interest and focus with the coming to power of the government led by Prime Minister […]
Ananta Insights | Central Asia Digest by Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar | February 2025
Political Developments Kazakhstan has completed a series of visits to explore advanced technologies to build its future nuclear power plant (NPP). The final decision on the choice of a supplier or consortium for the construction of a nuclear power plant will be made in the near future. A shortlist of four prominent companies has been […]
Ananta Insights | Central Asia Digest by Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar | January 2025
Political Developments President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Doha to discuss strategic partnerships and joint investments. The meeting was held as part of Tokayev’s visit to Qatar. During their meeting, the two leaders discussed the implementation of investment projects, including banking, telecommunications, energy, agriculture and healthcare. Tokayev […]
Ananta Insights | Central Asia Digest by Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar | October 2024
Political Developments Elections to the Uzbek Parliament were held on 27th October. The 150 members of the Legislative Chamber are elected via parallel voting: half are elected in single-member constituencies via first-past-the-post voting, while the other half are elected via closed list proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency with an electoral threshold of 7% […]
Central Asia Digest by Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar | August 2024
Political Developments At a meeting between Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent on August 23-24, the two leaders agreed on detailed roadmaps for industrial, infrastructural, and interregional development. This is another step towards Baku’s deeper engagement with Central Asia. It also sets a precedent for similar agreements with other Central […]
Central Asia Digest | May 2024
Political Developments The meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) ended in Astana with the adoption of 22 decisions related to multilateral cooperation in political and diplomatic, trade and economic, and cultural-humanitarian spheres. The meeting was held with participation of all member and observer states, partners and the […]