The red-carpet welcome to Modi in both Tashkent and Bishkek reflects the goodwill these countries have for India. Connections built over decades were on display as the Indian Prime Minister landed in the historic city. Building on this goodwill, both sides agreed to open a new chapter in their partnership in critical minerals and mining. It was agreed to explore cooperation in the fields of geology, mining, nuclear energy, industrial cooperation, and critical and strategic minerals, including projects for the processing of mineral resources, production of value- added products, and recycling initiatives. Indian companies will be encouraged to participate in the development of prospective mineral deposits in Uzbekistan and Uzbek enterprises for joint collaboration in India. 

Deeper Cooperation, Focus On Critical Minerals

The Summit between Uzbekistan’s President and Modi decided to expand cooperation in the field of critical minerals through the implementation of joint projects in geological exploration, mining, mineral processing, and the development of integrated value chains. Uzbekistan holds abundant reserves of over 30 critical and strategic minerals, including copper, tungsten, lithium, and molybdenum. While Indian firms are exploring mining contracts in South America, and rightly so, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, closer to home, provide more opportunities.  

It has also been decided to harness untapped potential in Indo-Uzbek trade and investment ties. The rapidly growing number of Indian companies operating in Uzbekistan reflects the significant potential for further expanding economic cooperation.

Indo-Uzbek Trade, Investment Ties

Both sides have agreed to undertake joint measures to broaden the range of goods traded between the two countries, remove non-tariff barriers, and promote industrial cooperation with a view to further increasing bilateral trade turnover. They decided to create a Joint Working Group to address non-tariff issues and investment barriers.

Cooperation can be strengthened in the fields of e-commerce, digitalisation of trade procedures, and the introduction of digital platforms to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and facilitate bilateral trade. It was decided to explore mutual recognition arrangements to facilitate faster and greater market access in each other’s markets.

There is a big potential for bilateral trade in electrical items, engineering products, automobiles, and the pharma sector. The next logical step will be an Uzbekistan-India Preferential Trade Agreement.

India-Kyrgyzstan Relations

In recent times, India-Kyrgyzstan relations have expanded in several areas of bilateral engagement, including defence, security, trade, and investment. Both countries also share common concerns on the threat of terrorism, extremism, and drug trafficking. Important facets of bilateral defence cooperation between India and the Kyrgyz Republic include training Kyrgyz personnel in Indian defence establishments, joint exercises, conduct of exchange programmes and joint research at the Kyrgyz-India Mountain Bio Medical Research Centre. 

In Bishkek, the meeting between Modi and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov paved the way to open up new vistas of cooperation, particularly in the mining sector. Kyrgyzstan holds deposits of over 20 critical minerals—including the world's third-largest antimony reserves, rare earth elements, and tungsten—essential for global green technologies and the energy transition. Gold mining is a major pillar of Kyrgyzstan's economy, anchored by the massive, high-altitude Kumtor Gold mine in the Tien Shan mountains. Agro-processing, education, pharmaceuticals, IT, and textiles are some other areas of opportunity.

Azerbaijan, India Ties

The meeting between the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and Modi was probably the most significant meeting to have happened on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. The ice was broken with the first-ever meeting between the leaders of India and Azerbaijan. The hesitation was overcome, and there is now an opportunity to build on this engagement based on pragmatism. For Azerbaijan, India is a big market for its energy resources and a possible investment destination; and for India, a neutral Azerbaijan keeps Pakistan in check. The Southern Caucasus nation, possessing natural resources, having decent per capita income, and emerging as a big tourist destination for Indians, provides an opportunity for Indian investors to explore opportunities.  In fact, along with Armenia, Azerbaijan can emerge as a big market opportunity for Indian businesses, including SMEs.

It is a lesser-known fact that the current President’s father, Heydar Aliyev, also a former President of Azerbaijan, had warm relations with India as a senior member of the Soviet Union’s power structure. This goodwill can form the basis of a pragmatic partnership between New Delhi and Baku. 

Outreach To Central Asia

India’s outreach to Central Asia, part of Delhi’s extended neighbourhood, should not remain confined only to the SCO Summit or the BRICS Summit (Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are designated partners of BRICS along with Belarus).

It is imperative to deepen engagement with Central Asia’s richest state, Kazakhstan, which presents huge investment opportunities to Indian investors, and Tajikistan, India’s oldest defence partner in the region.

The time is opportune to host leaders of both these states to upgrade strategic partnerships. And the icing on the cake will be reviving the initiative to host the maiden India-Central Asia summit. Simultaneously, it is necessary to play a wider and deeper role in SCO to balance Chinese ambitions in Eurasia. This is also the desire of the Eurasian states seeking options to reduce their dependence on their Eastern neighbour.       

(The writer is a commentator on geopolitics and geoeconomics. Views expressed are personal.)