... Gupta, Director, Vivekananda International Foundation; and Mohammad Hasan Sheikholeslami, President, Institute of Political and International Studies; addressed the participants with welcoming remarks.
Session 1 of the roundtable was devoted to the Russian, Indian and Iranian interests in Afghanistan and the possibilities of their interaction on issues of common interest in order to normalize the situation. The speakers included: Seyyed Rasoul Mousavi, MFA Director general of South Asia Department, Former Ambassador to Tajikistan and Finland; ...
... several players, both internal and external, who are seeking to fill the void left by the Americans and their allies. Pakistan, India, Iran, Turkey, China and Russia seem poised to play the next “
great game
” in the so-called “
graveyard of empires
”. Some of these states have a vested interest in the stability of Afghanistan to ensure regional security and foster economic interests as well as mitigate the spread of extremism and narcotics ...
... risks for Indian buyers. An expansion of the U.S. LNG presence in the region, for its part, may present Washington with instruments for applying pressure (including political pressure) on India, which is critically dependent on energy imports. Finally, Iran’s energy partnership with China could transform into a political partnership, effectively cutting India off from Central Asia and Afghanistan.
There are also a number of potential threats for Russia. The country could see its business opportunities in the Indian market narrowed and might end up with Europe and China as its two key gas consumers. Russian companies would end up being restricted to India’s LNG segment, in which they do not ...
