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Ashgabat agreement is a multimodal transport and transit agreement between Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Oman and India.The agreement was originally signed by Iran,Oman, Qatar, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. India formally joined in 2018.
Objectives of Ashgabat Agreement
- Facilitation of transit and transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.
- Enhance connectivity within the Eurasian region and synchronize it with other transport corridors within that region including the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
Relevance to India
India’s Accession to the Agreement would diversify India’s connectivity options with Central Asia and have a positive influence on India’s trade and commercial ties with the Central-Asian region majorly.
- The agreement is in line with India’s Look West Policy and Connect with Central Asia policy.
- Central Asia with its abundant natural resources, including petroleum, uranium and natural gas , is a large supplier of energy and can help to meet our energy needs.
- Scope for these countries to benefit from India’s expertise in information technology and IT-enabled services.
- Helps to optimise India’s trade routes to the EU, both in terms of costs and time.
- The regional connectivity agreement helps to counter Chinese Belt and Road Initiative.
- Improves India’s connectivity with land locked Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan.
- Diminish the leverage being exercised by Pakistan in curtailing India’s connectivity to Central Asian countries.
Sustainable the momentum maintaining steady flow of funds and avoiding delays in project implementation is the key to success of the agreement.