On January 27, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a virtual summit with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The summit was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of official ties between India and the five Central Asian states, though this was the first time leaders of the six countries had ever held a summit.
Their talks focused on historical cultural ties and connectivity, and while the results may appear modest, some see the meeting as symbolically ushering in a new era of relations in India’s ancient connections with the Central Asian region.
On this week's Majlis Podcast, RFE/RL's media-relations manager, Muhammad Tahir, moderates a discussion that looks at Indian-Central Asian ties and where they could be going after this summit.
This week's guests are: from New Delhi, Ashok Sajjanhar, executive council member at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses; president of the Institute of Global Studies; a distinguished fellow with the Ananta Aspen Centre, and former Indian ambassador to Kazakhstan; also from New Delhi, Punchok Stobdan, currently a senior fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in India and a former Indian ambassador to Kyrgyzstan; from California, Bakyt Beshimov, currently a Global Studies and International Relations lecturer and professor of the practice at Northeastern University and a former Kyrgyz ambassador to India; and Bruce Pannier, the author of the Qishloq Ovozi blog.
Copyright (c) 2015. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.