NEW DELHI: The first India-Central Asia summit hosted virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday condemned cross-border terrorism, a term used by India to indict Pakistan, and underlined the significance of transparency, along with respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, in pursuing connectivity initiatives.
Regional security with a focus on Afghanistan, along with connectivity, dominated the summit that saw Modi emphasising that the Central Asian region was central to India’s vision of an integrated and stable “extended neighbourhood”.
The two sides agreed to form separate joint working groups to address the Afghanistan situation and encourage connectivity through the Chabahar port with the landlocked region comprising five countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The presidents of all the five countries participated in the summit.
While China was not really the focus of attention in the virtual meeting, they all agreed, according to a joint declaration, that connectivity initiatives had to be based on the principles of transparency, broad participation, local priorities, financial sustainability and “respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries”. The India-Central Asia summit came only two days after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s own summit meeting with the Central Asian leaders in which he offered $500 million as aid to the five countries.
Modi said India and Central Asia had same concerns and objectives on regional security. “We are all concerned about the developments in Afghanistan. In this context also, our mutual cooperation has become even more important for regional security and stability,” the PM said in his opening remarks, adding that cooperation between India and Central Asia was essential for regional security and prosperity. Three Central Asian countries — Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — share borders with Afghanistan.
In keeping with the consensus reached last year at the Delhi Security Dialogue on Afghanistan, the summit called for the formation of a truly representative and inclusive government, combating terrorism and drug trafficking, central role of the UN, providing immediate humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan and “preserving the rights of women, children and other national ethnic groups and minorities”.
The leaders reiterated strong support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan while emphasising the respect for sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and non-interference in its internal affairs, according to the declaration. “They also discussed the current humanitarian situation and decided to continue to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan,” it said.
According to the declaration, the leaders also reaffirmed the importance of the UNSC Resolution 2593, passed last year under India’s presidency, which unequivocally demanded that Afghan territory not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing terrorist acts and called for concerted action against all terrorist groups, including those sanctioned by the UNSC.
A proposal for joint counter-terrorism exercises was also discussed with the leaders condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They reiterated that “providing support, using terrorist proxies for cross-border terrorism, terror financing, arms and drugs trafficking, dissemination of a radical ideology, and abuse of cyber space to spread disinformation and incite violence, goes against the basic principles of humanity and international relations”.
Modi said that apart from regional security and establishment of a framework of regular interactions, the third objective of the summit was to create an ambitious roadmap for our cooperation. “Through this, we will be able to adopt an integrated approach for regional connectivity and cooperation for the next 30 years,” he said.
The government said that there was an agreement to institutionalise the summit mechanism by holding it every two years. “They also agreed on regular meetings of foreign ministers, trade ministers, culture ministers and secretaries of the Security Council to prepare the groundwork for the summit meetings. An India-Central Asia secretariat in New Delhi would be set up to support the new mechanism,” said the government in a statement.
Regional security with a focus on Afghanistan, along with connectivity, dominated the summit that saw Modi emphasising that the Central Asian region was central to India’s vision of an integrated and stable “extended neighbourhood”.
The two sides agreed to form separate joint working groups to address the Afghanistan situation and encourage connectivity through the Chabahar port with the landlocked region comprising five countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The presidents of all the five countries participated in the summit.
While China was not really the focus of attention in the virtual meeting, they all agreed, according to a joint declaration, that connectivity initiatives had to be based on the principles of transparency, broad participation, local priorities, financial sustainability and “respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries”. The India-Central Asia summit came only two days after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s own summit meeting with the Central Asian leaders in which he offered $500 million as aid to the five countries.
Modi said India and Central Asia had same concerns and objectives on regional security. “We are all concerned about the developments in Afghanistan. In this context also, our mutual cooperation has become even more important for regional security and stability,” the PM said in his opening remarks, adding that cooperation between India and Central Asia was essential for regional security and prosperity. Three Central Asian countries — Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — share borders with Afghanistan.
In keeping with the consensus reached last year at the Delhi Security Dialogue on Afghanistan, the summit called for the formation of a truly representative and inclusive government, combating terrorism and drug trafficking, central role of the UN, providing immediate humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan and “preserving the rights of women, children and other national ethnic groups and minorities”.
The leaders reiterated strong support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan while emphasising the respect for sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and non-interference in its internal affairs, according to the declaration. “They also discussed the current humanitarian situation and decided to continue to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan,” it said.
According to the declaration, the leaders also reaffirmed the importance of the UNSC Resolution 2593, passed last year under India’s presidency, which unequivocally demanded that Afghan territory not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing terrorist acts and called for concerted action against all terrorist groups, including those sanctioned by the UNSC.
A proposal for joint counter-terrorism exercises was also discussed with the leaders condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They reiterated that “providing support, using terrorist proxies for cross-border terrorism, terror financing, arms and drugs trafficking, dissemination of a radical ideology, and abuse of cyber space to spread disinformation and incite violence, goes against the basic principles of humanity and international relations”.
Modi said that apart from regional security and establishment of a framework of regular interactions, the third objective of the summit was to create an ambitious roadmap for our cooperation. “Through this, we will be able to adopt an integrated approach for regional connectivity and cooperation for the next 30 years,” he said.
The government said that there was an agreement to institutionalise the summit mechanism by holding it every two years. “They also agreed on regular meetings of foreign ministers, trade ministers, culture ministers and secretaries of the Security Council to prepare the groundwork for the summit meetings. An India-Central Asia secretariat in New Delhi would be set up to support the new mechanism,” said the government in a statement.