Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan participated in the first India Central Asia summit hosted virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on landlocked countries, with special focus on Afghanistan. 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 summit came 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.
PM Modi 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”.
In the summit, 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.
