Dr. Pravesh Kumar Gupta is a Associate Fellow at Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF). He has a doctoral degree in Central Asian Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His PhD. Topic was Tajikistan-Pakistan Relations, 1991-2014. His primary interests of research are society and politics of Central Asian Republics, geopolitics of Central and South Asia, Energy Security and trans-regional energy linkages between Central and South Asia.

Contributions 
How Useful was Secretary Blinken’s Visit to Central Asia? Background A year has passed since the Ukrainian conflict erupted in February last year. This crisis has had a devastating impact not just on the countries involved but also on those not part of this conflict. Supply chain disruptions, a ...

Is Taming the Dragon Possible in Central Asia? Background Due to its proximity to China’s western region and abundant natural resources, the Central Asian region is crucial from a geopolitical perspective. With the demise of the Soviet Union, China established a significant political ...

Central Asia: A Look Back at 2022 and Projections for 2023 Background The year 2022 has been challenging for the Central Asian region. In addition to the widespread anti-government protests resulting from the tumultuous internal socio-economic and political environment, the external impact of the...

The significance of the First Meeting of India-Central Asia NSAs Introduction On December 6, 2022, the National Security Advisors/Secretaries (NSAs) of India and Central Asian countries met for the first time in Delhi. The meeting was hosted by India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and attended ...

Why is Early Presidential Elections in Kazakhstan Significant? Background The incumbent President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won by a landslide in an early presidential election on November 20, 2022. He was reelected because the Kazakh people trusted him and supported a fair g...

VIF Papers 
Great Game Revisited: China's Grand Eurasian Strategy through the Prism of 'One Belt One Road' … despite multiple flaws, China's expanding participation in Central Asia is a long-term phenomenon and a watershed moment in the post-Soviet history and economic development of these countries… China is the only country capable of mobilising mas...

VIF Roundtable on India-Central Asia Relations | Summary of Discussions India-Central Asia relations gained momentum in the recent past with Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the five Central Asian Republics in 2015 and India’s permanent membership to Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2017. During Prime Ministe...

Book Published / Book Reviews 
The Spectre of Afghanistan: Security in Central Asia by Kirill Nourzhanov and Amin Saikal; London, I.B.TAURIS Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., 2021, pp. 249. Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are three Central Asian countries that share geographical boundaries and cross-border ethnic linkages with Afghanistan. As a result, the developments in Afghanistan have directly impacted these countries. Alth...

Buddha in Gandhara by Sunita Dwivedi; Rupa Publications India Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, 2020, 295pp. ‘Buddha in Gandhara’ is the fourth book by Sunita Dwivedi. She is a Silk Road traveller and has a keen interest in uncovering Buddhist heritage across India Subcontinent. This book presents an account of the ancient Buddhist cities of Gandhara...

The Rise and Fall of Khoqand: Central Asia in the Global Age, 1709-1876. By Scott C. Levi, Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2017. 2017, 258pp. Until recently, a few books have been published on the history of Central Asian Khanates of Khiva, Bukhara, and Kokand. In his book, Levi C. Scott, a professor of Central Asian history at Ohio State University, focuses on the historical significance ...

VIF Briefs 
Revitalization of INSTC and Prospects of the Greater Eurasian Connectivity The geostrategic significance of Central Asia is very much important from India’s foreign policy and domestic policy points of view. Central Asia shares a border with China in the East, Caspian in the West, Russia in the North, and Iran and Afghani...

Turkey’s Role as a Regional Actor in Central Asia: An Assessment Central Asia’s geostrategic location at the crossroads of East and West has shaped substantial geopolitical rivalries in the region. Even though the region is within Russia’s sphere of influence, China has made significant advances in Central Asi...

India-Central Asia: Defence and Security Cooperation Central Asia has emerged as an important geopolitical space after the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991. Its geostrategic location at the crossroads of East and West, South, Central, and West Asia has often resulted in the spread of challeng...

India-Tajikistan Relations: The Security Factor India and Tajikistan share great historical and cultural relations. Tajikistan was a part of Kushana and Persian Empires which had close cultural linkages with the Indian subcontinent. During the Islamic rule in India, Persian language and Sufism fro...

Event Reports 
VIF Interaction with the visiting delegation from Iran On Interfaith Dialogue in the Historical Perspective, especially from India and Iran Point of View On December 15, 2022, the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organized an interaction with a high level delegation from Iran. The theme of the discussion was 'Interfaith Dialogue in the Historical Perspective, especially from India and Iran P...

Interaction with Delegation from the Institute of Political and International Studies IPIS, Iran On November 11, 2022, the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) had a discussion with a visiting delegation from Iran's Institute of Political and International Studies (IPIS). Dr Arvind Gupta, Director VIF, delivered the introductory remarks, w...

Discussion on Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Achievements and Prospects Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), organized a Round Table Discussion on “Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Achievements and Prospects” on September 5, 2022. Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director VIF, delivered the welcome remarks, followed by r...

VIF-IPIS Webinar on Bilateral, Regional and International Issues In order to assess the dynamics of India-Iran relations, the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS) Iran, in collaboration with the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organized a webinar on Bilateral, Regional and Internatio...

Interaction with HE Mr. Ali Chegeni, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to India on “Indo-Iranian Relations and A perspective on Regional Security and Connectivity” Following the official visit of Dr. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran to New Delhi on June 8-9, 2022, Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) hosted an interaction (in hybrid format) with HE Mr. Ali Chegeni...

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