As reported earlier, on 12-13 January 2019 Samarkand will host Central Asia-India-Afghanistan foreign ministers’ meeting.

Though the details of the conference are not unveiled yet, it can be assumed that the priority points of discussion will be the issues of economy and security.

Over the past few years, Delhi has sought to intensify trade and economic relations with Central Asian countries. However, success in achieving this goal depends largely on stability in Afghanistan and availability of transport connectivity. Indian politicians and the countries of the Central Asian five are aware of this.

On the other hand, such Central Asian nations as Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan can open an additional access for Indian business to the Afghan market. To this end, India is promoting heavily the operationalization of the Iranian port of Chabahar, and has implemented a number of essential infrastructure projects in Afghanistan in the field of transport, energy and agriculture.