India recognised the independence of Kazakhstan from the Soviet Union after the latter's dissolution in 1992, despite being one of the very closest friendly allies with the Soviets during much of the Cold war. In recent years, India has sought to increase its commerce and strategic ties with Kazakhstan, which is the second largest nation of the former Soviet republics and occupies a major expanse of territory in Central Asia with extensive oil, natural gas and mineral reserves. India has sought to expand ties after mounting concern over the growth of the economic and strategic influence of the People's Republic of China. In 2002, Nursultan Nazarbayev made an official visit to India and in the same year, the Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee attended the summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia in the Kazakhstan's former capital city, Almaty.