Abstract. The South Asian direction of the foreign policy of the Central Asian republics and Russia serves the purpose of diversifying their international contacts under severe conditions of the transition to a polycentric world order. Along with energy and transport projects, the sphere of security and international relations remains a priority in the triangle of Central Asia (CA)–South Asia (SA)–Russian Federation (RF). The foreign policy vectors are largely determined by such major regional states as India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan. These states are developing a strategic partnership and economic cooperation with Russia, China, other South Asian and Central Asian countries within the framework of regional (The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS, RIC) structures, as well as some informal strategic forums (Central Asia – Russia dialogue, etc.).