PM Modi's visit to Kyrgyzstan will give new impetus to bilateral relations!

Prime Minister Narendra Modi left on Saturday for a four-day foreign trip. PM Modi will be on a tour of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan from August 29 to September 1. This visit is being considered important for India in giving new impetus to strategic, economic and security cooperation with Central Asia.

Indian Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Birendra Singh Yadav told IANS that Prime Minister Modi's visit is expected to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.

This will be Prime Minister Modi's third visit to Kyrgyzstan. Birendra Singh said, “PM Modi had first come on an official visit in 2015 and for the second time in 2019 to attend the SCO summit. Now the SCO summit is being organized again in Kyrgyzstan, so he is coming to participate in the 26th meeting.”

The Indian Ambassador further said, “On the sidelines of the SCO Summit, the Prime Minister will discuss bilateral issues with Kyrgyzstan's President Sadir Japarov. The two leaders will also comprehensively review India-Kyrgyzstan relations and identify new areas of cooperation.

Promoting trade and investment between the two countries will also be an important part of the talks. Bilateral trade has doubled in the last five years after Prime Minister Modi's last visit. But the level of our trade turnover is still not in line with our potential. The effort will be to move forward under the guidance of the PM.

“The potential for economic cooperation between India and Kyrgyzstan is vast and both sides are making continuous efforts to expand trade and give a new direction to economic relations.”

According to Birendra Singh, after the visit of Prime Minister Modi in the last five years, there has been significant progress in defense and security cooperation between the two countries. In the year 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed to set up a Joint Working Group (JWG) on Defense Cooperation. This Joint Working Group meets regularly and representatives from both countries prepare an annual action plan for defense cooperation.

Regarding growing cooperation in the defense sector, he said, “Joint military exercise 'Khanjar' is also regularly organized between India and Kyrgyzstan. This year this exercise took place in MISAMARI, India, while the next exercise will be held in Kyrgyzstan in February. Apart from this, India also provides training and specially designed courses to Kyrgyzstan for capacity building in the defense sector.”

Referring to Bhishma Cube, he said, “When Defense Minister Rajnath Singh came to Kyrgyzstan in April, he also gifted two 'Bhishma Cubes'. Such cooperation is considered important in taking forward the defense relations between the two countries.

Military relations are strong. India is also cooperating with Kyrgyzstan in the field of capacity building and training through the ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation) programme. “It aims to provide training tailored to the needs of Kyrgyzstan and share experiences between institutions of the two countries.”

India's Ambassador to SCO noted India's commitment against terrorism. He said, “India has also raised the issue of terrorism prominently during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (ACCO) chaired by Kyrgyzstan. India has been continuously emphasizing the need for collective action against terrorism, extremism, separatism and radicalism from the platform of ACCO.

India has actively participated in various high-level meetings during Kyrgyzstan's ACCO Chairmanship. “India's Defense Minister participated in the ACCO Defense Ministers' meeting, while Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai participated in the ACCO Home Affairs Ministers' meeting.”

He further said, “In addition, various Union Ministers and senior representatives of India also participated in other meetings related to ACCO. There is high-level participation from India.

Be it the Minister of Heavy Industries, Minister of State for External Affairs, Culture Minister, or Nitin Gadkari who participated in virtual mode. It is India's endeavor to ensure that Kyrgyzstan's ACCO presidency is successful and that the initiatives taken under the organization are taken forward effectively.”

According to Birendra Singh Yadav, “An important objective of defense and security cooperation in India-Kyrgyzstan relations is to strengthen the capabilities of both the countries to effectively counter common challenges such as terrorism, extremism, separatism and radicalism.”