PM Narendra Modi to embark on 4-day visit to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyz Republic

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's four-day visit to Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic marks a significant milestone in India's evolving engagement with Central Asia, a region that has historically served as a bridge between South Asia, the Middle East, and Eurasia. The first leg of the visit — a two-day stay in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, at the invitation of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev — is PM Modi's fourth visit to the country since 2015, underscoring the deepening strategic partnership between the two nations. This sustained high-level engagement reflects India's broader 'Connect Central Asia' policy, launched in 2012, which aims to enhance political, economic, cultural, and security cooperation with the five Central Asian republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The historical context is crucial. India's civilizational ties with Central Asia date back centuries, facilitated by the Silk Road, which enabled the exchange of goods, ideas, religions, and cultures. However, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, India's engagement remained limited due to geographical barriers — particularly the lack of direct land access caused by Pakistan's refusal to allow transit — and the region's initial orientation toward Russia and China. The turning point came with India's accession as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2017, alongside Pakistan, which provided a multilateral platform for structured dialogue with Central Asian leaders. Since then, India has hosted the first-ever India-Central Asia Summit in virtual format in January 2022, followed by the first in-person summit in New Delhi in 2023, institutionalizing the partnership. Key stakeholders in this visit include President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, who has pursued an open-door foreign policy since 2016, prioritizing regional cooperation and economic diversification. For India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) coordinate the strategic outreach. The visit also involves business delegations, cultural troupes, and defence officials, reflecting the whole-of-government approach. Uzbekistan, as the most populous Central Asian state and a key transit hub, holds strategic importance for India's connectivity ambitions, particularly the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the Chabahar Port project in Iran, which together aim to bypass Pakistan and provide India access to Afghanistan and Central Asia. The significance for India is multi-dimensional. Economically, bilateral trade with Uzbekistan remains modest (~$500 million in 2023), but there is vast potential in pharmaceuticals, IT, agriculture, and rare earth minerals. Politically, the visit reinforces India's image as a reliable development partner — evident in lines of credit for infrastructure, capacity building under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, and digital public infrastructure (DPI) sharing like UPI and Aadhaar-inspired models. In defence, joint exercises like 'Dustlik' and cooperation in counter-terrorism align with shared concerns over radicalization and the situation in Afghanistan post-2021 Taliban takeover. Culturally, the visit promotes Buddhist heritage tourism (e.g., Termez in Uzbekistan), yoga, and Hindi language education, leveraging soft power. Constitutionally, Article 51 of the Directive Principles of State Policy mandates the State to 'promote international peace and security' and 'foster respect for international law and treaty obligations,' providing a philosophical basis for such diplomatic outreach. While foreign policy is an executive function under Article 73, Parliament exercises oversight through committees and debates, ensuring accountability. The visit also aligns with India's 'Neighbourhood First' and 'Extended Neighbourhood' policies, now extended to Central Asia as part of its 'Act East' and 'Look West' convergence. Broader themes include India's balancing act in a multipolar world — engaging with the SCO (where China and Russia dominate) while deepening ties with the Quad and the West. The visit also highlights the importance of connectivity as geopolitics: the INSTC and Chabahar are not just trade routes but strategic assets. Future implications include the possibility of a dedicated India-Central Asia foreign ministers' dialogue, expansion of the INSTC to include Uzbekistan, and joint ventures in critical minerals essential for green energy transitions. As India assumes the SCO Presidency in 2026, this visit lays the groundwork for a more assertive and constructive Indian role in shaping the Eurasian security and economic architecture.