India announced Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host the first India-Central Asia summit virtually on January 27 as part of the country’s engagement with surrounding regions.

Due to a surge in Covid-19 infections, the government decided to continue celebrating Republic Day on January 26 without any foreign leaders as key guests.

The Indian side has previously invited the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as the guest of honor, but no country has officially announced it.

The foreign ministry said the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan would participate in the virtual summit, which it described as “the first engagement of its kind at the leadership level between India and a Central Asian country”.

The ministry said the summit reflected New Delhi’s growing engagement with the Central Asian countries that are part of India’s “extended neighbour” and symbolized the importance that Indian and Central Asian leaders place on a comprehensive and lasting partnership. At the summit, the ministry said leaders are expected to discuss steps to take India-Central Asia relations to new heights and exchange views on regional and international issues, “especially the evolving regional security situation”. Modi visited all Central Asian countries in 2015 and had high-level exchanges in bilateral and multilateral forums. The India-Central Asia Foreign Ministerial Dialogue, the third meeting held in New Delhi in December, has promoted the development of bilateral relations.

“The Secretary of the Central Asian National Security Council participated in the Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan in New Delhi on 10 November 2021 to outline a common regional approach on Afghanistan,” the foreign ministry said.

This is the second year in a row that Republic Day celebrations have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the new coronavirus over the past few weeks and the recent violent protests in Kazakhstan that have killed more than 220 people have been factors hindering the participation of Central Asian leaders, people familiar with the matter said. matter.

Last year, India continued its shortened Republic Day celebrations without a chief guest after Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled his visit at the last minute due to the rapid spread of a coronavirus in the UK. Republic Day celebrations are seen as a high point on the country’s diplomatic calendar, and it is extremely rare to have no chief guest.

Complete News Source : Hindustan Times