A Strategic Push into Central Asia
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s four-day visit to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan places India at the heart of a strategically contested Central Asian region, where energy security, connectivity, terrorism and great-power rivalry increasingly intersect. His August 29-30 State visit to Tashkent will focus on strengthening bilateral ties, before he travels to Bishkek for the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on August 31 and September 1.
Tashkent: Expanding a Strategic Partnership
Uzbekistan is central to India’s Central Asian outreach because of its geography, economic potential and industrial base. Modi’s talks with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev are expected to cover trade, investment, defence, energy, digital technology, education and people-to-people exchanges.
The two sides are also seeking to connect India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision with Uzbekistan-2030, signalling an attempt to move relations beyond traditional cultural goodwill towards long-term economic cooperation. Bilateral trade is targeted at $2 billion initially, with ambitions eventually reaching $3-5 billion.
Yet geography remains the biggest constraint. India has no direct land route to Central Asia, making alternative transport corridors strategically vital.
Connectivity Could Change India’s Central Asian Reach
This explains New Delhi’s emphasis on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and Iran’s Chabahar port. A functioning India-Iran-Central Asia route could provide landlocked Uzbekistan and other Central Asian economies greater access to the Indian Ocean while reducing India’s dependence on routes passing through Pakistan.
Connectivity is therefore not simply an economic issue. For India, it is also a question of strategic autonomy. New Delhi is pushing for corridors that are transparent, commercially viable, sovereign and financially sustainable, particularly as China expands its economic footprint across the region.
Bishkek: Security Takes Centre Stage
Modi’s participation in the SCO summit in Bishkek will shift the emphasis towards regional security and Eurasian geopolitics. India, a full SCO member since 2017, is expected to promote its framework of Security, Connectivity and Opportunity, while pressing for stronger cooperation against terrorism, separatism and extremism.
The SCO provides India a rare platform alongside China, Russia, Pakistan and the Central Asian republics. But it also exposes competing interests. India’s concerns over terrorism coexist uneasily with China’s growing regional influence and Russia’s evolving geopolitical priorities.
Putin Meeting Adds Another Strategic Layer
A meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin will be particularly significant. Discussions are expected to encompass energy, fertilisers, defence, trade, payment mechanisms and connectivity.
For New Delhi, maintaining close engagement with Moscow remains part of its broader strategic-autonomy policy. The meeting also comes as Russia seeks stronger economic links with Asian partners, making Central Asia increasingly important within a changing Eurasian trade architecture.
Central Asia Moves Closer to India’s Core Strategy
Modi’s visit demonstrates that Central Asia is no longer a distant diplomatic theatre for India. It is increasingly connected to the country’s energy security, trade ambitions, counter-terrorism priorities and competition for strategic influence.
The challenge will be converting diplomatic intent into infrastructure, investment and sustained commercial engagement. India’s Central Asian strategy will succeed not through symbolism alone, but by turning connectivity into access, partnerships into economic gains, and strategic autonomy into lasting regional influence.
(With agency inputs)
