India's historical linkages with Central Asian Countries being fostered through cooperation in defence, several other areas

India Gazette

04-06-2025

New Delhi [India], June 5 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will host the Foreign Ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for the fourth meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue on June 6. India's historical and cultural linkages with the Central Asian Countries are being fostered with cooperation in a range of areas, including defence.
India shares historical and cultural linkages with the Central Asian Countries (CACs) going back to several millennia. Buddhism spread from India via Tibet to Central Asia, establishing strong spiritual ties. Indian monks founded monasteries and translated texts across Central Asia. Key Buddhist sites like Termiz, Fayaz Tepe, Kara Tepe, and Adzhina Tepe reflect this influence.
India was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the CACs in 1992 following their emergence as independent countries after the collapse of the erstwhile USSR. India has concluded strategic partnerships with all the CACs, except Turkmenistan.
There have been several high-level visits between India and Central Asia countries bilaterally.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic visit to all CACs in July 2015, India's ties with these countries have been put on a much higher trajectory and many new areas of cooperation have emerged.
PM Modi also visited many Central Asian capitals/cities to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summits in Tashkent (2016), Nur-Sultan (2017), Bishkek (2019), and Samarkand (2022). Similarly, there have been regular visits to India by Central Asian leaders.
India-Central Asia Summit, at leaders level, is the highest level of engagement between India and Central Asia. The inaugural Summit was held virtually in January 2022. It marked a pivotal step in strengthening India's ties with the region. It was chaired by PM Modi and attended by the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The Summit adopted the 'Delhi Declaration,' institutionalizing biennial summits and regular ministerial dialogues.
The India-Central Asia Dialogue, launched in January 2019 in Samarkand, is a meeting of Foreign Ministers. It serves as a key platform for strengthening ties between India and Central Asia. The second meeting took place virtually in October 2020 and focussed on regional security, counter-terrorism, and infrastructure development.
The third meeting was held in New Delhi in December 2021 and emphasised connectivity to further deepen the ties between India and Central Asia.
The fourth edition of the Dialogue is taking place in New Delhi on June 5-6.
The India-Central Asia NSA's meetings, inaugurated in December 2022 in New Delhi and followed by a second meeting in October 2023 in Astana, serves as a vital platform for regional cooperation on security, counter-terrorism, cybersquatting, and connectivity. It also proposed capacity building programme for Central Asian officials on various aspects such as Drug Law Enforcement, preventing Terror Financing etc.
Defence cooperation is an important pillar of India's strategic partnership with the CACs. India has annual military exercises 'KazInd' with Kazakhstan, 'Khanjar' with Kyrgyz Republic and 'Dustlik' with Uzbekistan. Training of defence personnel of CACs in Indian premier defence training institutes and deployment of Indian Military training teams in some countries is another important aspect of India's defence cooperation.
India has been assisting the CACs through developmental projects, capacity building and human resource development since their independence.
India has extended about 6500 ITEC slots and 1500 ICCR scholarships to the professionals and students from the CACs. India has set up IT Centers in all the CACs. India's major grant projects include Mountain Bio-medical Research Center in the Kyrgyz Republic, setting up of Modern Engineering Workshop, Computer Labs in 37 schools and renovation of Varzob-1 Hydro Power Plant in Tajikistan, Entrepreneurship Development Center in Uzbekistan and an Industrial Training Center in Turkmenistan.
Framework MoUs for implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDP) with India's grant assistance have been signed with all the CACs.
India Central Asia trade reached a high of USD 3 billion in 2019-20. India's total trade with Central Asian region in FY 2024-25 was around USD 1.2 billion.
Lack of overland connectivity between India and Central Asia and lack of awareness among businesses on the both sides about opportunities available are among impediments.
To improve connectivity between India and the region, India has invited the Central Asian countries to be part of the International North South Transport Corridor and the Chabahar port development.
India and the CACs enjoy close cultural relations. Several Buddhist sites throughout Central Asia testify to the spread of Buddhism from India to Central Asia and beyond. Yoga, Indian dance and music and Bollywood remain extremely popular in the CACs.
The Indian community in Central Asia comprises approximately 45,000 individuals, primarily medical students, distributed across the region as follows: Kazakhstan (10,500), Kyrgyzstan (12,860), Tajikistan (1,600), Turkmenistan (100), and Uzbekistan (15,000). This diaspora includes students, entrepreneurs, professionals in sectors such as oil, IT, banking, hospitality, and representatives of Indian or multinational corporations.
Apart from this, more than 2 lakh Indians visited the Central Asian countries (mainly Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan) in 2024. As of May 2025, Indian citizens can visit Central Asia with visa-free entry to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan for up to 14 days and 7 days respectively and e-visas are available for Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Four Central Asian Countries (except Turkmenistan) are fellow members of SCO, Asia Cooperation Dialogue and CICA. All the CACs support India's permanent membership in a reformed and expanded UN Security Council. CACs generally support India's candidates in the elections to UN bodies.
At the fourth meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue in New Delhi on June 6, the Ministers will discuss further strengthening of relations between India and Central Asian countries with particular focus on trade, connectivity, technology, and development cooperation. They will also share perspectives on challenges to regional security and other regional and global issues of mutual interest.
The Foreign Ministers will also participate in the India-Central Asia Business Council meeting being held on June 5 by MEA in collaboration with FICCI. (ANI)