India, Central Asia resolve to step up ties in defence, connectivity, commerce

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 19

India and Central Asia on Sunday resolved to take their ties to the “next level” in areas of commerce, connectivity, defence and counterterrorism.

In a joint statement at the end of the third India-Central Asia Dialogue, the foreign ministers wanted connectivity initiatives to be based on transparency, broad participation, local priorities, financial sustainability and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. These, incidentally, are the issues that India says are missing in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The ministers also condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reiterated that providing safe havens, using terrorist proxies for cross-border terrorism and terror financing went against the basic principles of humanity and international relations.

They also wanted perpetrators to be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with principle of “extradite or prosecute”.

Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in his opening remarks said New Delhi is pleased at the state of the bilateral relations with Central Asia but knows that the potential is very much more.

The foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan also delivered their remarks.

The ministers later called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi while some of them held separate bilaterals with Jaishankar.

The ministers felt interaction in defence and security was an important element of India-Central Asia cooperation and resolved to regularly hold consultations between their NSAs on terrorism and other emerging security challenges in the region.

They welcomed the proposal to include Chabahar Port within the International North South International Corridor (INSTC) and flagged their interest in using Shahid Beheshti Terminal at Chabahar Port for trade with India and beyond.

They decided to continue providing humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and spoke against the country being used for planning terrorist acts and called for concerted action against all terrorist groups.

They also sought an inclusive government, central role of the UN in providing humanitarian assistance and preserving the rights of women, children and other national ethnic groups.

It was also decided to jointly celebrate the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Central Asia.

The two sides also touched on utilising India’s $1 billion line of credit for infrastructure development projects while Turkmenistan stressed on the importance of the TAPI gas pipeline project.