SCO meet: India-Uzbekistan agree to coordinate on regional concerns

External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held a meeting with his Uzbek counterpart Abdulaziz Kamilov today, and the two leaders agreed to coordinate closely on regional concerns and take forward their growing development partnership.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday held a cordial meeting with his Uzbek counterpart Abdulaziz Kamilov on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers' meet in Moscow.

EAM Jaishankar is on a four-day visit to Russia to attend the SCO's council of foreign ministers' meeting. "Began the day with a cordial meeting with Uzbek FM @ a_h Kamilov," Jaishankar tweeted.

During the meeting both the leaders agreed to coordinate closely on regional concerns and take forward their growing development partnership.

"Agreed to coordinate closely on regional concerns. We will take forward our growing development partnership. Appreciate Uzbekistan's vital role in our Central Asian engagement," the minister said.

It is pertinent to note that EAM S Jaishankar is scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the SCO Foreign Ministers meet in Moscow on Thursday evening.

According to sources, the meeting is scheduled to take place at 6 pm. The meeting between the two ministers will be the first face-to-face political contact between India and China since the border standoff began in early May.

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On Wednesday, Jaishankar had separate meetings with his Tajikistan and Kyrgyz counterparts and agreed to boost India's strategic ties with the two Central Asian countries. Relations between Uzbekistan and India have their roots deep in history.

There are frequent references to Kamboja in Sanskrit and Pali literature, which is stated to include parts of present-day Uzbekistan, according to the Indian Embassy in Tashkent.

Indian leaders often visited Tashkent and other places. Moreover, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri passed away in Tashkent on January 11, 1966, after signing the Tashkent declaration with Pakistan.

India has been taking an active part in various SCO dialogue mechanisms. The SCO Summit will be held in the near future.

Earlier two meetings were held in Beijing on 23-24 April 2018 and Bishkek (Kyrgyz Republic) on 21-22 May 2019.

Read:India foreign minister likely to meet China counterpart