New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as India strengthens its engagement with Central Asia through deeper strategic, economic and security cooperation.
The proposed visit to Kyrgyzstan will be centred on the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and is expected to include a series of bilateral meetings. The Uzbekistan leg of the trip will be a standalone bilateral visit.
Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov, who is currently in New Delhi, confirmed preparations for the Prime Minister’s visit. During his visit, Saidov held talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and also called on President Droupadi Murmu.
“We agreed to prepare for the upcoming visit of the PM to Uzbekistan… Will give impetus to deepening and strengthening bilateral cooperation,” Saidov said.
He described India as an important strategic and trade partner for Uzbekistan in South Asia, noting that bilateral trade between the two countries has reached USD 1 billion.
Also Read:CCTV Captures Brutal Killing Of Faridabad Teacher; Accused Arrested Within Hours
Defence cooperation, trade, connectivity initiatives and people-to-people exchanges are expected to be key topics during the discussions. India and Uzbekistan also conduct regular joint military exercises under the “Dustlik” exercise.
Prime Minister Modi has previously visited Uzbekistan three times—in July 2015, June 2016 in Tashkent and September 2022 in Samarkand.
In Kyrgyzstan, the primary focus of the visit will be participation in the SCO summit, alongside several bilateral engagements.
Defence cooperation remains a key pillar of India-Kyrgyzstan relations. The partnership includes training of Kyrgyz military personnel at Indian defence institutions, joint military exercises, exchange programmes and collaborative research through the Kyrgyz-India Mountain Bio-Medical Research Centre (KIMBMRC) in Bishkek.
India has also allocated 100 training slots for Kyrgyz nationals under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme.
Prime Minister Modi last visited Kyrgyzstan in 2019, having earlier travelled to the Central Asian nation in 2015.
The upcoming visits underline New Delhi’s continued focus on strengthening ties with Central Asia as the region gains increasing strategic importance through multilateral forums such as the SCO and expanding bilateral cooperation in trade, connectivity and security.
Officials from both countries are expected to finalise the visit schedule and detailed agenda in the coming days. The visits are expected to provide India with an opportunity to further strengthen partnerships in a region that serves as a key link between Asia and Europe through major connectivity and energy corridors.