News Highlight
The Defence Minister held separate bilateral talks with Uzbek, Kazakh, and Belarusian counterparts on his first visit to Tashkent.
Key Takeaway
- The Defence Minister is in Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan, to attend a conclave of the defence ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
- The entire spectrum of defence cooperation with the three countries was reviewed during the meetings, focusing on identifying avenues to expand mutually beneficial collaboration.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
- The SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.
- China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Russia made up the Shanghai Five before the SCO was founded in 2001.
- The Shanghai Five became known as the SCO after Uzbekistan joined the group in 2001. Pakistan and India joined in 2017.
- Beijing-based SCO Secretariat offers organisational, analytical, and informational support.
India and Central Asia Relations
- India-Central Asia Summit
- At the initiative of the Prime Minister of India, the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan attended the first India-Central Asia Summit in January 2022.
- Bilateral Trade and Investments:
- The major items of India’s exports are pharmaceutical products, mechanical equipment, vehicle parts, services, optical instruments and equipment.
- India’s imports from the Central Asian countries consist mainly of fruit and vegetable products, services, fertilisers, juice products and extracts, and lubricants.
- Security Cooperation:
- India and Central Asian countries share common perspectives on security issues, including terrorism, trans-national organised crime, illegal trafficking and smuggling, etc.
- Defence Cooperation:
- India-Uzbekistan Joint Military Exercise- ‘Dustlik’ and India-Kyrgyzstan Joint Military Exercise Khanjar.
- India has also assisted in setting up an India Room at the Armed Forces Academy of Uzbekistan in Tashkent.
- Bilateral and Multilateral Mechanisms:
- The India-Central Asia Dialogue is a ministerial-level dialogue between India and the Central Asian countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Issues and Challenges of India-Central Asian relations:
- Geographical limitedness:
- India’s unfriendly neighbourhood and topographical challenges create a big gap between India and Central Asian countries.
- It triggered lower trade and other relationships.
- China’s dramatic rise:
- China asserts profound influence in the Central Asian regions.
- Moreover, Russia’s differences with the West have brought China and Russia closer.
- Untapped economic potential:
- The volume of trade and investment between Central Asian countries and India does not correspond to the potential of the nations.
- Political turmoil in the neighbourhood
- The illegitimate government and political instability in neighbouring Afghanistan challenge India’s investment in Central Asian countries.
Way forward
- Overcoming the geographic limitations:
- The fast operationalisation of the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) would enhance connectivity to Central Asian regions.
- The INSTC is a multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road routes for moving freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.
- Expanding economic relations:
- Expanding cooperation in areas such as information technology, programming, automobile industry, metallurgy, pharmaceutics, chemical, light industry, banking system etc
Content Source: The Hindu