Earlier, Modi held talks with Massimov after his arrival here on Tuesday from Uzbekistan on the second leg of his Central Asian tour. “We are both vibrant democracies and remain very proud of our democratic framework”, PM Modi said in a tweet.
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While Kazakhstan is a major oil producer and Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have some of the biggest natural gas reserves, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are estimated to have considerable untapped reserves. This will be the first formal meeting between the two leaders after May 2014.
There is enormous potential for future cooperation between Brics countries as their economies are highly complementary, the trade among them reaches $400 billion and the increment of their domestic demands accounts for half of the world’s. The region’s geo-political situation is also unique (as well as complex).
Analyst Pattanaik has a similar view: “The Central Asian countries are fighting the menace of terrorism, drug trafficking as well as facing the threat of radical Islam”. “The most noteworthy development in the CARs over the last quarter century is the decline of Russia’s influence and the concomitant rise of China’s”, said Sikri.
This is Modi’s first trip as prime minister to the Central Asian republics of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and he intends to make a mark on his hosts while hoping to bolster Indian presence and engagement in these countries.
“I sought his support for India joining the Ashgabat Agreement” – a transport corridor that would link Central Asia to the seaports in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Then, the onus will be on the stakeholders to make the region “terror free” for the sake of regional economic development. While this pales in comparison to trade between Uzbekistan and Russian Federation or China, India remains an important partner.
Modi is also expected to meet Xi and discuss the bilateral ties, amid India’s unhappiness over Beijing constructing an economic corridor with Pakistan passing through PoK.
On July 11, Modi will fly down to Turkmenistan.
Addressing a joint press event, Modi said,”I have begun my journey in Uzbekistan underlining its importance for India, not just in this region, but also in Asia”. It has brought real benefits for the member states, and also earned a good reputation among the global community.
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It is essential for India and Central Asia to chart out common strategies to confront and overcome these looming risks. “In this connection, the parties welcomed signing of Memorandum on Mutual Understanding on Technical Cooperation in the sphere of railways between the NC “Kazakhstan Temir Zholy” JSC and the Ministry of Railways of India”, the joint statement said.
