India-Tajikistan Bilateral Relations

• 01 Jul 2022

For Prelims: UNSC, SCO, ECOSOC, Ajanta Pharma, ICCR, India-Central Asia Dialogue

For Mains: India-Tajikistan Relations, East-West Trans-Eurasian transit economic corridors, Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC), ICCR, India-Central Asia Relations

Why in News?

India’s Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences held a bilateral meeting with the Minister for Energy and Water resources of Republic of Tajikistan.

• Issues like water resources research especially Glacier monitoring, Non-conventional Energy, Peaceful Use of Space Technology and Disaster Management were discussed to support global water action and climate resistance on Water for Sustainable Development.

How is India’s Relations with Tajikistan?

• Consultative Mechanism:
  • Foreign Office Consultations
  • Joint Working Group on Counter-terrorism
  • Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation
  • JWG on Defence Cooperation
  • JWG on Peaceful Use of Space Technology for Development
• Cooperation in International Forums:
  • In 2020, Tajikistan extended support for India’s candidature for a non-permanent seat in United Nation Security Council for the term 2021-22.
  • Tajikistan strongly supported Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Member status for India.
  • India has consistently supported Tajikistan’s proposals at the United Nations on water related issues.
  • India also supported Tajikistan’s candidature to United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and accession to WTO in March 2013.
• Development & Aid Partnership:
  • Development Assistance:
    • With a grant of USD 0.6 million, an Information and Technology Centre (Bedil Centre) was commissioned in 2006.
      • The project ran for a full hardware cycle of 6 years and trained almost all first-generation IT experts in the government sector in Tajikistan.
    • A project for setting up computer labs in 37 schools in Tajikistan was completed and delivered in August 2016.
  • Humanitarian Assistance:
    • In June 2009, USD 200,000 cash assistance was given by India to overcome damage caused by floods in Tajikistan.
    • After the outbreak of Polio in southwest Tajikistan, India provided 2 million doses of oral polio vaccine through UNICEF in November 2010.
• Human Capacity Building:
  • Since the establishment of the Indian embassy in Dushanbe in 1994, Tajikistan has been a beneficiary of the Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC).
  • In 2019, under India-Central Asia Dialogue Process, some Tajik diplomats were trained at Foreign Service Institute, Delhi.
• Trade & Economic Relation:
  • Indian exports to Tajikistan mainly consist of pharmaceuticals, medical preparations, cane or beet sugar, tea, handicraft and machinery.
    • Indian pharmaceutical products occupy approximately 25% of Tajik market.
  • Different types of ores, slag and ash, aluminium, organic chemicals, herbal oils, dried fruits and cotton are exported to India by Tajikistan.
  • In 2018, Eight MoU’s were signed in the areas of Peaceful Use of Space Technology, Disaster Management, Renewable Energy, and Agricultural Research and Education.
• Cultural & People-to-People Relation:
  • Deep rooted historical and cultural linkages have helped expand and widen the relationship to a new level.
    • Cooperation between the two countries encompasses all aspects of human endeavour with special focus on military and defence ties.
  • Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre in Dushanbe offers courses in Kathak & Tabla through teachers deployed by Indian Council for Cultural Relations from India. The centre also offers Sanskrit and Hindi language classes.
  • In 2020 ‘My Life My Yoga’ video blogging competition saw participation from Tajikistan yoga enthusiasts.
    
    

India-Central Asia Relations

• About:
  • India has had relations with Central Asia since the 3rd century B.C as the nation's fell on route to the Legendary Silk Route.
  • Buddhism found inroads in several of Central Asian cities such as Merv, Khalachayan, Tirmiz and Bokhara etc in the form of Stupas and Monasteries.
  • Central Asia serves as a land bridge between Asia and Europe, making it geopolitically axial for India.
    • The region is rich in natural resources such as petroleum, natural gas, antimony, aluminium, gold, silver, coal and uranium which can be best utilised by Indian energy requirements.
  • Central Asian Regions are fast getting linked to the global market for production, supplies of raw materials and services.
    • They are also increasingly getting integrated into the East-West Trans-Eurasian transit economic corridors.
• India-Central Asia Dialogue:
  • It is a ministerial-level dialogue between India and the Central Asian countries namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
  • All five nations became independent states after the collapse of the USSR in 1991, post-Cold war.
  • All the countries participating in the dialogue, except for Turkmenistan, are also members of the SCO.
  • The dialogue focuses on a number of issues including ways to improve connectivity and stabilise war-ravaged Afghanistan.
• Recent Development between India and Central Asia Relations:
  • India’s USD 1 billion Line of Credit for projects in Central Asia, connectivity endeavours by using the Chabahar Port for enhancing trade between the two sides, and the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline.
  • International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) in conjunction with Ashgabat Agreement on International Transport and Transit Corridor (ITTC) is enhancing connectivity between India and the Central Asian countries.
  • The Foreign ministers of the five Central Asian nations visited New Delhi in December 2021 to attend the third India-Central Asia Dialogue
  • Dealing with Covid-19, while the Central Asian countries appreciated India’s assistance in supply of Covid-19 vaccines and essential medicines during their early stage of the pandemic.
  • In January, 2022 the Prime Minister of India hosted the first India-Central Asia Summit in virtual format.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQ)

Q. Consider the following countries: (2022)

1. Azerbaijan
2. Kyrgyzstan
3. Tajikistan
4. Turkmenistan
5. Uzbekistan

Which of the above have borders with Afghanistan?

A. 1, 2 and 5 only
B. 1, 2, 3 and 4 only
C. 3, 4 and 5 only
D. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Ans: C

Source: PIB