New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi will host the first India-Central Asia summit virtually on Thursday with a focus on increasing trade and connectivity with temporary resource-rich areas also seeking to overcome security situations in Afghanistan.
The meeting, which cannot be held directly because of a pandemic, will see participation by the five leaders of Central Asian countries – Kyazhstan, Kyazhstan, Kyrgyzistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
These leaders also participated in the same summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on January 25.
Three of the five Central Asian countries – Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – also share borders with Afghanistan.
The top security officials from the five countries have participated in last year at the Afghan Conference organized by NSA Ajit Doval.
Afghanistan has become the main focus area for India in relations with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
India has also been looking to increase cooperation with Tajikistan in areas such as defense, border management and border infrastructure development.
Uzbekistan agreed with India that Afghanistan’s future must be decided by the Afghan people themselves and that the legitimacy of the Afghan government is important before efforts to facilitate its international recognition.
The NSA conference sees the support of all the ideas that neighboring Afghanistan needs to ensure access to humanitarian aid that is not obstructed to the Afghan people.
Official sources say apart from trade and connectivity, the focus will also increase development partnerships and cultural contacts and people-to-people.
According to the MEA, the Summit is a reflection of Indian engagement that develops with Central Asian countries, which is part of India’s “big environment”.
It remembers in a previous statement that Modi paid “historic visit” to all Central Asian countries in 2015 and, then, there had been high-level exchanges in bilateral and multilateral fora.