South and Central Asian Energy Officials to Meet

A conference organised by the international Energy Charter and attended by energy officials from Central Asia, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan will take place in Bishkek on April 26. The three south Asian countries are interested in buying electricity from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakstan. Although exporting large amounts of energy is not technically possible yet, the idea of linking up the Central and south Asian electricity grids is being seen as the first stage of an American geopolitical initiative to create a “Greater Central Asia”, removed from the Russian and Chinese sphere of influence.