Focus on terror, trade in Jaishankar's meetings with Central Asian counterparts
New Delhi: Joint efforts to counter terrorism and bolstering trade and investment figured prominently in bilateral meetings between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his counterparts from Central Asian states on Thursday.
The foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are in New Delhi to participate in the fourth edition of the India-Central Asia Dialogue on Friday. Ahead of the dialogue, Jaishankar held separate meetings with his counterparts.
Kazakh foreign minister Murat Nurtleu, Tajik foreign minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Kyrgyz foreign minister Zheenbek Kulubaev and Turkmenistan foreign minister Rashid Meredov denounced terrorism and backed joint efforts to counter the problem during their discussions with Jaishankar.
Jaishankar said in a social media post that he appreciated Nurtleu's 'reaffirmation of zero tolerance for terrorism'. Jaishankar and Muhriddin agreed on the need to 'firmly counter terrorism in our region'.
During the meeting with Kulubaev, Jaishankar thanked him for Kyrgyzstan's 'support and solidarity in countering terrorism'. He also welcomed Meredov's strong condemnation of all forms of terrorism.
Jaishankar and his counterparts also held discussions on enhancing trade, investment, connectivity and development and energy cooperation.
At the meeting with his Kazakh counterpart, Jaishankar discussed aspects of the bilateral strategic partnership, including trade, investment and energy cooperation. 'Also spoke about widening connectivity with the Central Asia region,' Jaishankar said on social media.
Cooperation in banking, education, energy, health and capacity building figured in the discussions between Jaishankar and his Kyrgyz counterpart.
Jaishankar and the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan signed separate programmes of cooperation.
The India-Central Asia Dialogue on Friday will focus on strengthening of relations between India and the strategic region, with the focus on trade, connectivity, technology, and development cooperation.
The six countries will also share their perspectives on challenges to regional security and other regional and global issues, the external affairs ministry said.
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