"...The 64-year-old minister, who had built a long career in India's foreign diplomatic corps before joining politics, emerged optimistic from the Nov. 25 roundtable concerning cooperation between North and Central Asian producers and the main regional consumers China, Japan, South Korea, and India. He used the occasion to reiterate his call to former Soviet bloc producers and the vital transit country of Turkey to pay adequate attention to Eastern markets, instead of focusing solely on Europe.
SECURITY IS KEY. While the message went down well with the producers -- Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan -- Aiyar found an especially strong ally in Turkish counterpart Mehmet Hilmi Guler. 'Hilmi Guler belongs to an Islamic conservative party and therefore has some sense of discomfort with a purely Western orientation,' Aiyar told reporters in a post-event briefing. 'He has become a great advocate,' said Aiyar, referring to a 'north-south' oil and gas supply relationship he has championed with Turkey in the past few months.... "
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