China, Russia, India, Turkey, Iran, U.S. Interplay Of Interests In Central Asia

NEW DELHI: On ‘Talking Point‘, Ambassador Asoke Mukerji, India’s Former Permanent Representative to the UN and Ex-Envoy to Kazakhstan, who also opened India’s first Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan Embassies in 1992 and Samantha Custer, the Director of Policy Analysis, and Co-author of the AidData report, ‘Corridors of Power: How Beijing Uses Ties to Exert Influence Along the Silk Road‘ in discussion with StratNews Global Associate Editor Amitabh P. Revi.

The panel discusses the extensive new AidData study on “Chinese public diplomacy efforts in the region–from financing and education to culture and social media, how Beijing has used a broad and diverse toolkit to cultivate economic and soft power influence”, a series of Indian foreign policy engagements, including reported plans to invite the Presidents of all five Central Asian countries for Republic Day in 2022, the Foreign Ministers meeting in Delhi for the 3rd India-Central Asia Dialogue from December 18-20, the National Security Advisors from C-5 countries attending a regional meet hosted by India in November on the situation in Afghanistan and the fluid interplay between the interests of China, Russia, India, the U.S., Turkey and Iran in the region.