India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar paid a visit to Tajikistan (13-14th July) & Uzbekistan (15-16th July) to participate in regional forum meetings.
- He visited Tajikistan to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation – Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting (SCO-FMM) & the Contact Group on Afghanistan held at Dushanbe, Capital of Tajikistan.
- Jaishankar visited Uzbekistan to participate in the Central-South Asia Conference 2021.
Tajikistan
EAM visited Tajikistan at the invitation of Foreign Minister Mr. Sirojiddin Muhriddin to participate in the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers.
- Achievements of SCO as it celebrates the 20th Anniversary of its Formation in 2021 were discussed.
- The participants assessed the preparation for the upcoming SCO Council of Heads of States on September 16-17, 2021 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
- They also exchanged views on current international and regional issues.
i.SCO Contact Group on Afghanistan – The foreign ministers of the 8-member countries carried out a detailed deliberation on the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.
ii.SCO offered to assist Afghanistan in becoming a country free of terrorism, war and drugs.
iii.EAM S Jaishankar met with Uzbekistan Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov in Dushanbe and discussed the situation in war-torn Afghanistan.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
It is a Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance that was established on June 15, 2001 in Shanghai, China. Founding members are China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan & Uzbekistan.
i.Total members – 8; Observers – 4
ii.Members – China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan , Uzbekistan, India & Pakistan.
- Observers – Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran & Mongolia
iii.India & Pakistan joined SCO in 2017.
Uzbekistan
EAM Jaishankar visited Uzbekistan to participate in the ‘Central-South Asia conference’ titled“Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity, Challenges and Opportunities (Connectivity Conference)” held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It was hosted by Uzbekistan.
- Delegations of the C5+1 – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, USA participated in the International Conference.
- The forum is aimed at strengthening historically close and friendly ties, trust and good-neighborliness between Central and South Asia in the interests of all peoples and countries of both regions.
Key Points
i.The C5+1 countries agreed to enhance engagement by strengthening connectivity between the Central and South Asian regions through trade, transport, and energy links.
ii.The conference came out with a broad roadmap for boosting connectivity between Central Asia and South Asia.
iii.It was attended by the representatives of leading international organisations, including financial institutions.
iv.During the visit, Jaishankar inaugurated the IT room of India-Uzbekistan Entrepreneurship Development Centre at Tashkent.
EAM meets Afghan President
At the sidelines of the multilateral event, EAM met Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
- Jaishankar affirmed India’s support for peace, stability, and development in India.
India, Bangladesh agree to Strengthen Partnership
On the sidelines of the event, EAM Jaishankar met with A. K. Abdul Momen, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh.
- They discussed a range of issues including the bilateral and regional connectivity, COVID-19 and vaccination situation in both countries.
- The two countries also agreed to strengthen the bilateral relationship.
Recent Related News:
April 1, 2021, EAM Dr S Jaishankar reached Dushanbe (Capital of Tajikistan) as part of his official visit to Tajikistan from March 30-31, 2021.
On December 11, 2020 the first bilateral virtual summit between India and Uzbekistan was co-chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev to discuss the entire gamut of bilateral relationship, including strengthening India-Uzbekistan cooperation in the post-COVID-19 world between both nations.
About Tajikistan
President – Emomali Rahmon
Capital – Dushanbe
Currency – Tajikistan Somoni (TJS)
About Uzbekistan
President – Shavkat Mirziyoyev
Capital – Tashkent
Currency – Uzbekistan Som (UZS)
About Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
Secretary General – Vladimir Norov
Headquarters – Beijing, China
