Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the India-Central Asia Summit 
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted the first India-Central Asia Summit in a virtual format on Thursday and called for defining an ambitious vision for cooperation between India and Central Asia in the coming years. PM Modi stressed that Central Asia is central to India’s vision of an integrated and stable extended neighbourhood.
Mutual cooperation between India and Central Asia is essential for regional security and prosperity, PM Modi said while interacting with Kazakhstan’s Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Uzbekistan’s Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan’s Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow and Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyz Republic.
Emphasising the need for more friendly relations with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, PM Modi touched upon the Afghanistan issue and said, “We all are concerned about the Afghan situation and this makes cooperation between India and Central Asia all the more important for regional stability and security.”
Mutual cooperation between India and Central Asia is essential for regional security and prosperity, PM Modi said.
The India-Central Asia Summit is the first meeting of its kind between India and the Central Asian countries at the level of leaders.
The leaders attending the India-Central Asia Summit agreed on regular meetings of foreign ministers, trade ministers, culture ministers and secretaries of the Security Council to prepare the groundwork for the Summit meetings.
The Leaders discussed far-reaching proposals to further cooperation in areas of trade and connectivity, development cooperation, defence and security and, in particular, on cultural and people to people contacts. These included a Round-Table on Energy and Connectivity; Joint Working Groups at senior official level on Afghanistan and use of Chabahar Port; showcasing of Buddhist exhibitions in Central Asian countries and commissioning of an India-Central Asia dictionary of common words, joint counter-terrorism exercises, visit of 100 member youth delegation annually from Central Asian countries to India and special courses for Central Asian diplomats, the Prime Minister’s Office said.