India’s Economic Opportunities and Energy Security: Analysing Prospects Within SAARC and Beyond

It has been extensively debated whether India should prioritise relations with its immediate or extended neighbourhood. Put into the framework of energy security and competition with China, it will be argued that the recently signed South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) framework agreement can provide the basis and open up new opportunities for inter- and sub-regional energy co-operation in Asia. Furthermore, besides concrete proposals, such as a two-track process within SAARC, it will also be suggested that in order to successfully extend this framework and tackle the region’s energy dependence, India should embark on the development of triangular foreign policy strategies, connecting Iran, Russia, Japan and the United States with its immediate neighbourhood more significantly.