Govt drops plans to host Central Asian leaders as chief guests on Republic Day in view of the Covid-19

The Narendra Modi government has dropped its plan to host the leaders of the five Central Asian nations as the chief guests on the occasion of Republic Day in view of the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Modi will instead hold a virtual summit with the presidents of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on January 27.

Though the government had originally planned to host the Central Asian leaders as the chief guests, it had to drop the plan in view of the surge in the SARS-CoV-2 infections. The last Republic Day was also celebrated with no foreign leader being invited to be the chief guest in view of the pandemic.

The virtual summit Prime Minister will hold with the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan on January 27 will be the first engagement of its kind between India and the Central Asian countries at the level of the leaders.

“The first India-Central Asia Summit is a reflection of India’s growing engagement with the Central Asian countries, which are a part of our extended neighbourhood,” Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Also read: Security forces on high alert along Pathankot-Jammu highway ahead of Republic Day

The Prime Minister and his counterparts from the five nations – President Sadyr Japarov Kyrgyzstan, President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan and President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow of Turkmenistan – are expected to discuss steps to take forward India-Central Asia relations to newer heights. They are also expected to exchange views on regional and international issues of interest, especially the evolving regional security situation, the MEA spokesperson added.

New Delhi is keen to step up its engagement with Central Asia as Pakistan is trying to get a strategic edge against India in the region after the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s “iron brother” China has also been expanding its geopolitical influence in the region.

Modi visited all Central Asian countries in 2015 and it was followed by exchanges at high-levels at bilateral and multilateral forums.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar hosted his counterparts from the five Central Asian nations for a conclave in New Delhi from December 18-20 last year. It provided an impetus to India-Central Asia relations. Earlier, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval also hosted the secretaries of National Security Councils of the Central Asian countries in the Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan in New Delhi on November 10. The conclave outlined a common regional approach of India and five Central Asian nations on Afghanistan.

India has since long been hosting a foreign leader as the chief guest on the occasion of its Republic Day every year. The first Republic Day chief guest for the Modi Government was the then United States President Barack Obama. He attended the ceremony on the Rajpath in New Delhi on January 26, 2015.

The then French President Francois Hollande and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and de-facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, were the chief guests in Republic Day ceremonies in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The leaders of the 10 Southeast Asian nations had attended the Republic Day ceremony on January 26, 2018. The Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro were the chief guests in 2018 and 19 respectively.

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