FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 10, 2010
Contact: Felisa Neuringer Klubes 202.663.5626
E-mail: fklubes@jhu.edu
JHU SAIS to Host Forum on Reconnecting India and Central Asia
The Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) will host a forum, “Reconnecting India and Central Asia: Emerging Security and Economic Dimensions" on Wednesday, May 12 at 5:30 p.m. (a reception will precede the forum at 5 p.m.) The forum, hosted by the SAIS Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (CACI), celebrates the launch of Reconnecting India and Central Asia: Emerging Security and Economic Dimensions, a book edited by Nirmala Joshi, director of the India-Central Asia Foundation in New Delhi, with the preface by S. Frederick Starr, CACI chairman. The volume, published by the CACI-Silk Road Studies Joint Center, provides an overview of the emerging and deepening relations between India and Central Asia—in both the political and economic fields. The book’s authors delve into India’s deepening political and economic relations with Central Asia and Afghanistan, which, from ancient times, have belonged to its extended neighborhood. A primary concern is the stability of Afghanistan where India is vigorously involved in reconstruction activities. Integrating South and Central Asia would result in vast economic benefits with India helping Central Asia to build capacities in such areas as agriculture, information technology, service industries, the sciences and the media. Conversely, Central Asia would help to satisfy India’s increasing need for energy. Such a relationship has enormous potential for strengthening stability and security in the wider region. Gulshan Sachdeva, associate professor of the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University and one of the book’s four Indian authors, will present at the forum. A pdf of the book can be found at http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/inside/publications/Joshi.html. The event, free and open to the public, will be held in the first floor auditorium of the school’s Rome Building, 1619 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. Members of the public should RSVP to CACI at saiscaciforums@jhu.edu or 202.663.7723. Media who want to cover this event should contact Felisa Neuringer Klubes in the SAIS Communications Office at 202.663.5626 or fklubes@jhu.edu. | 
