Jaishankar arrives in Kyrgyzstan as part of India's effort to deepen bilateral ties with Central Asian countries

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived here on Sunday as part of his four-day visit to Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Armenia with an aim to further expand bilateral ties with the three Central Asian countries.

Jaishankar will be in Kazakhstan from October 11 to 12 to attend the 6th Ministerial meeting of the Conference of Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday.

The CICA meeting is being held in Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is the current Chair of the grouping.

"Delighted to arrive in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan at the invitation of FM Ruslan Kazakbaev. Looking forward to a productive visit," Jaishankar tweeted soon after he landed at the Manas International Airport here.

Jaishankar was welcomed at the airport by Kyrgyz Deputy Foreign Minister Aibek Artykbaev and Indian Ambassador Alok A Dimri, the Indian Embassy here tweeted, sharing pictures of the minister's arrival in Bishkek.

During his stay in Bishkek, Jaishankar will hold talks with his Kyrgyz counterpart apart from calling on President Sadyr Japarov.

"This will be his first visit to the country as the external affairs minister," the MEA had said, adding that some agreements are also expected to be signed during the visit.

Jaishankar's three-nation visit will be a continuation of India's increased engagement with countries in its "extended neighbourhood", according to the MEA.

It is learnt that the developments in Afghanistan are expected to figure prominently in Jaishankar's talks with leaders of the three central Asian countries.

Jaishankar will visit Armenia on October 12 to 13 during which he will have meetings with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan and call on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

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