India's Defence Minister George Fernandes promised help Friday for Kazakhstan's anti-terrorism efforts, particularly in building a navy able to protect Caspian Sea oil installations."A special focus of our cooperation will be the fight against terrorism," Fernandes told reporters during a short tour of the former Soviet central Asian republic.
Discussions with Kazakh officials focused on a 10-year plan to create a Kazakh navy able to deal with potential terrorist threats to the country's expanding oil and natural gas installations, Kazakh Defence Minister Mukhtar Altybayev said.
India will also step up cooperation with Kazakh defence industries, which have have struggled since the break-up of the Soviet Union's integrated defence manufacturing system, Fernandes said.
Fernandes was speaking in Kazakhstan's recently established capital Astana after visiting neighbouring Kyrgyzstan earlier in the week, where he promised Indian expertise in mountain combat techniques.
India has mounted an all-out effort to to win friends in the central Asian region this week since Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha has been on a parallel visit to nearby Uzbekistan.
India's interest in central Asia region mirrors that of other powers such as China, Russia and the United States, but may also be aimed at limiting the influence of its arch-rival Pakistan.
Pakistan has also attempted to forge ties in the region, particularly with nearby Turkmenistan.
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