The Strategic Cooperation among India, Pakistan, Iran and Central Asia and its implications upon the Regional Stability

The close interconnectedness and intense mutual interdependence among the countries both geo-politically and geo-economically has turned the world into a kind of a global village. Today maintaining peace, security and economic development of a country either directly or indirectly depend upon its cooperation with the other countries. In these days of age, it is mutual cooperation rather than confrontation which is the preferred tool by the states for securing the national interests. The cooperation has occupied the central stage at both geopolitical and geo-economical levels and the mentality that wars and confrontation were regarded as the tool for furtherance and securitization of the national interests is ending. With respect to this mutual cooperation between the countries of South Asia, Middle East and Central Asia, particularly India-Pakistan-Iran and Central Asian countries has immense potential not only for providing immediate solution to their common internal problems that the countries are facing but also playing a crucial role in developing their mutual understanding, economy, establishing peace and security as well as in integrating all the three regions. There are areas like energy, trade, and facilitation of transitional routes, which are having the capacity to open a new phase in their mutual cooperation. Cooperation in these areas will not only resolve their immediate problems that these countries are facing particularly in the energy sector, economic field and with respect to national security, but it would also transform them into long-term strategic partners. Therefore the paper attempts to analyze the India, Pakistan and Central Asia cooperation and its impact on economic development, regional integration and peace and security