PM's Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan Visit and SCO Summit: India's Central Asia and Multilateral Engagement
The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Uzbekistan on 29-30 August for bilateral talks with the Uzbek President, followed by participation in the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, from 31 August to 1 September.
A bilateral meeting with the Russian President is planned on the sidelines of the SCO Summit to review the bilateral relationship.
The Uzbekistan leg is expected to cover progress on the India-Uzbekistan strategic partnership across trade, connectivity, and other sectors.
The visit includes bilateral meetings with other SCO leaders on the summit sidelines, in addition to the plenary sessions of the Council of Heads of State.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO): Structure and India's Membership
The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and security grouping founded in Shanghai on 15 June 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, evolving from the earlier "Shanghai Five" mechanism (1996). It functions through annual Heads of State Council summits and addresses security cooperation (notably counter-terrorism via the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, RATS), connectivity, and economic cooperation among member states.
The visit centres on India's participation as a full SCO member in the annual Heads of State summit, alongside separate bilateral engagements that are conventionally held on its sidelines.
India-Russia "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership"
India and Russia's bilateral relationship, rooted in the 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation, was upgraded to a "Strategic Partnership" in 2000 and further elevated to a "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership" during the Russian President's visit to India in December 2010 — a tier of partnership India does not use for most other countries.
A bilateral meeting on the margins of a multilateral summit is a recurring format for the India-Russia Annual Summit mechanism, used to review the "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership" outside a dedicated standalone visit.
India's Connect Central Asia Policy and the India-Central Asia Summit
India's engagement with Central Asian republics (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) is guided by the "Connect Central Asia" policy (announced 2012), later reinforced by the first India-Central Asia Summit held virtually in January 2022, focusing on connectivity, security, trade, and cultural links.
Key Details
- India-Central Asia cooperation is closely linked to connectivity projects such as the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and Chabahar Port in Iran, which bypass Pakistan to give India land access to Central Asia.
- A dedicated India-Central Asia Dialogue at the Foreign/External Affairs Minister level has met periodically since 2019 to institutionalise this engagement below the leaders' level.
- Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are both landlocked Central Asian republics and founding members of the SCO, making them focal points for India's Central Asia connectivity and security outreach.
The bilateral leg of the visit to Uzbekistan, ahead of the multilateral SCO summit in Kyrgyzstan, reflects India's dual-track approach of combining bilateral Central Asia diplomacy with multilateral engagement through the SCO platform.
- 26th SCO Summit venue: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; dates 31 August-1 September.
- Uzbekistan bilateral visit: 29-30 August, preceding the summit.
- SCO founded: 15 June 2001, Shanghai; founding members: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.
- India granted full SCO membership: 2017 (Astana Summit), after observer status held since 2005.
- India-Russia ties elevated to "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership": December 2010.
- SCO counter-terrorism body (RATS) headquartered in: Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
- India-Central Asia Summit (first edition, virtual): January 2022.