New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar held a telephone conversation with acting Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov. Both leaders discussed bilateral cooperation and the India-Central Asia partnership.
Taking to Twitter, EAM Jaishankar said, "A good conversation with acting Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov. Congratulated him on his appointment and conveyed Navruz greetings. Discussed our bilateral cooperation and the India-Central Asia partnership".
Both leaders confirmed their readiness to take joint measures to further intensify political dialogue, trade, and economic cooperation, as well as cultural and humanitarian exchanges. They also discussed the events planned for 2023 in a bilateral format and within the framework of the India-Central Asia Dialogue.
Bakhtiyor Saidov was appointed as Uzbekistan's acting Foreign Minister on December 30 last year. He took over the job from Vladamir Norov. Saidov has worked as an ambassador to China, Mongolia, and the Philippines.
In July last year, External Affairs Minister SJaishankar held separate bilateral talks with his counterparts from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan on the margins of an SCO conclave in Tashkent. Moreover, in December last year, the National Security Advisors of India and Central Asian countries met for the first time in Delhi.
The meeting was hosted by NSA Ajit Doval and attended by his counterparts from five Central Asian countries, except Turkmenistan, which was represented by its envoy in New Delhi.
Uzbekistan handed over the rotating Presidency of SCO to India in Samarkand last year. Launched in Shanghai in June 2001, the SCO has eight members, including its six founding members including China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017.
