New Delhi: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Friday welcomed the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan for the fourth India-Central Asia Dialogue in New Delhi. The issue of terrorism was raised strongly in this meeting. External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said that India is moving strongly in enhancing anti-terrorism and anti-radicalization partnerships across the region. We will not tolerate terrorism at any cost. Apart from this, trade, connectivity were also discussed.
Foreign ministers of these 5 countries participated
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on Instagram and wrote that the fourth India-Central Asia Dialogue began in Delhi. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar warmly welcomed Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleyu, Foreign Minister of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan Zhinbek Kulubaev and Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyar Saidov.
Meeting with PM Modi in the evening
At the same time, after participating in the India-Central Asia Dialogue on Friday, the Central Asian Minister will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the evening before ending his visit to India. During the fourth edition of the dialogue on Friday, the ministers will discuss further strengthening relations between India and Central Asian countries. It will focus on trade, connectivity, technology and development cooperation.
He will also share his views on regional security challenges and other regional and global issues of mutual interest. India and Central Asia enjoy close and cordial contemporary diplomatic relations supported by centuries-old cultural and people-to-people exchanges in each other's 'extended neighbourhood', a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said.
The first India-Central Summit held virtually in January 2022 and the mechanism of India-Central Asia Dialogue at the level of Foreign Ministers have significantly advanced this relationship. Earlier on Thursday, Central Asian Foreign Ministers participated in the India-Central Asia Business Council.
What did External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar say?
Addressing the Business Council meeting in the national capital, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar urged the India-Central Asia Business Council to recommend a roadmap to further deepen India-Central Asia relations in trade, economy and investment. He highlighted three broad objectives to strengthen the economic partnership.
Posting on 'X', the External Affairs Minister wrote that it was a pleasure to join my fellow Foreign Ministers of Central Asia in the India-Central Asia Business Council this evening. In a changing world, our economic partnership has three key objectives- to deepen existing cooperation, diversify our trade basket and bring stability to our economic ties.
Digital economy and innovation, financial services, healthcare and pharma, connectivity and streamlined transit were identified as solutions to achieve these. The India-Central Asia Dialogue, launched in Samarkand in January 2019, serves as an important platform to strengthen ties between India and Central Asia.
The second meeting was held virtually in October 2020 and focused on regional security, counter-terrorism and infrastructure development. The third meeting was held in New Delhi in December 2021, with an emphasis on connectivity to further deepen ties between India and Central Asia.
