'Keep Afghan situation in mind while discussing Central Asia'

"The entire Central Asia will benefit if realistic alternatives are thought and Afghanistan is drawn into a cooperative regional economic and security framework so that nation building there could proceed based on economic development, social harmony, rule of law and participatory democracy in consonance with the wishes of Afghan people," he said here.

Ansari was delivering the inaugural address at a seminar on 'India and Central Asia: Perspectives on bilateral and regional cooperation' here.

He said many of the Central Asian Republics have embarked on market oriented economic reforms to boost private sector competitiveness and economic performance.

As a result, he said, leading and aspiring powers are active in the region in quest of natural resources, energy pipelines and transit routes leading to wide ranging geopolitical considerations pertaining to security, prevention of drug and arms smuggling and counter terrorism and fundamentalism.

Furtherance of trade and economic cooperation with the region, beginning with Afghanistan, hinges on connectivity which in turn is intrinsically dependent on access route options and its policy and practical implications, he said.

"The easiest route through Pakistan and Afghanistan appears totally dependent on a good mix of human wisdom and divine intervention. Both seem elusive in the foreseeable future," he said.

He said the second point of access through Iran and Afghanistan is a real possibility and appears to take shape through the proposed development of the Chabahar port and the completion of Zaranj Delaram highway.

"A variant of this for Central Asian states dependent on the upgrading of railway track in Iran, could be the Iran- Turkmenistan route. Both would require fine tuning of policy and long term financial commitments," he said. MORE