PM Returns Home After 6-Nation Tour; Says India, C.Asia Must Reconnect On Larger Scale

14 July, New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned home Monday night after his six-nation tour of Russia and five Central Asian countries.

The highlight of the visit was Modi’s attendance of BRICS and SCO Summits and talks with his Pakistani counterpart and some other leaders. Over the last eight days, he travelled to Uzbekistan, Kazakstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

In a tweet after landing at Palam Technical Airport in Delhi, Modi said he has returned home after a historic Central Asia visit that covered tremendous ground in enhancing India’s ties with the region. He flew in from Tajikistan, which was the last stop of his visit.

While leaving Tajik capital Dushanbe, Modi had tweeted that he has completed his tour of Central Asia and his visits to these 5 Central Asian nations have convinced him that India and Central Asia must reconnect on a larger scale.

In another tweet, he said strong ties between India and Central Asia are important for the future that we seek for our countries & our region.

During his stay in Ufa in Russia, the Prime Minister attended the Summit of the five-nation BRICS, which focussed on economic and security cooperation.

He also attended the Summit of the six-member grouping, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, SCO, which decided to grant full membership to India.

On the sidelines of the Summit, Modi held a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister during which a host of significant decisions were taken to improve ties.

Among the major decisions was that National Security Advisors of the two countries will meet to discuss terrorism and efforts would be made to speed up the trial in Mumbai attack case, including providing of voice samples of the accused.