The move forms part of a policy to use oil as a diplomatic tool for building energy security by developing supply sources away from volatile West Asian markets.

Key countries from the Caspian and Central Asian regions such as Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan; and Russia are to be invited. The ’India-CIS Round Table’ has tentatively been set for November 21 but may be changed as Turkmenistan has scheduled a ministerial round at the same time. India’s ambassador to Turkmenistan is being roped in to clear the air.

In an era when policy initiatives don’t last beyond the tenure of individual ministers, it speaks volumes about the strength of the idea that Mani Shankar Aiyar’s successor -- Murli Deora -- is willingly carrying forward.

As the first UPA oil minister, Aiyer started it all. He first hosted a ministerial summit with West Asian exporting countries, including Saudi Arabia, and four Asian buyers. This earned it the sobriquet, ’Mini OPEC’. The second was with Central Asian and Russian suppliers and the Asian buyers.

Last year, Deora hosted the India-Africa Energy summit. While Africa is the latest hunting ground for Asian economies, Central Asia and Russia have historically been coveted for their hydrocarbons treasure. Due to its geographical proximity, China enjoys an advantage over India in tapping Central Asian resources.

But recent shifts in geopolitical equations can remove transportation hurdles that have kept India away from Central Asian oil/gas despite its cultural affinity with the region. One, improvements in ties with Pakistan and Afghanistan have brightened the prospects of the gas pipeline project from Turkmenistan. Two, upswing in ties with Israel and Turkey also opens prospects of nearly halving distance for shipping Central Asian or Caspian oil through the Eilat-Ashkelon (Israel) and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (Azeri-Turkish) pipelines.

Naturally, the round table is expected to focus on joint or cross-investments -- India investing in fields and facilites of the producing countries, and the suppliers investing in refining and gas in India. New Delhi is in talks for a stake in fields of Kazakhstan and is trying to establish a footprint in refining, pipelines and LPG bottling in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azarbaijan. In Russia, it has equity in Sakhalin-I and is keen on stakes in upcoming exploration, refining, gas and petrochemicals projects.