NEW DELHI: India is exploring the possibility of inviting the top leaders of Central Asian countries to refer to the future celebration of the Republican Day, a step that comes in the background of a new bond that is growing rapidly with the region.
People who are familiar with developments said on Sunday that the choice of inviting leaders of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzistan Republic and Tajikistan as the head of the visitors were being pursued.
At the same time, they said there was no finality on the guest list while not overriding other options too.
As a grouping, India has invited 10-state leaders of ASEAN’s influential regional blocks (Association of Southeast Asian nations) for Republican Day celebrations in 2018 and they are all careful.
In recent years, India has focused on increasing overall cooperation with Central Asian countries that are rich in energy, considering they are part of an expanded environment.
Upsswing in India’s involvement with this area took the Whirlwind Tour Prime Minister Narendra Modi in five countries in July 2015 which resulted in the expansion of two-way bonds in various fields.
Recent developments in Afghanistan also strengthened the importance of Central Asian countries with three of them – Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – sharing the border with a torn war.
National security advisors from all five Asian countries are attending regional dialogues hosted in India in Afghanistan on November 10.
NSA Russia and Iran also participated in that.
India does not have a guest of the Republic of this year.
It has invited British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as the main guest of the Republican and he accepted the invitation.
However, three weeks before the event, Johnson canceled a visit to New Delhi after a surge in Covid-19 cases in England.
Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro was the leading guest at the Republican Day celebration in 2020 and he was the third president of Brazil to decorate the event.
In 2019, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was the main guest at the R-Day Parade while in 2018, leaders of ASEAN countries attended the celebration.
In 2017, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan was the main guest in the celebration, while French President Francois Hollande adorned the event in 2016.
In 2015, at that time US President Barack Obama was the main guest.