Modi talks regional security, cooperation in First India- Central Asia Summit
Darpan News Desk IANS, 27 Jan, 2022 12:05 PM
New Delhi, Jan 27 (IANS) "It is clear that cooperation between India and Central Asia is essential for regional security and prosperity. From an Indian point of view, I would like to emphasize that Central Asia is central to Indias vision of an integrated and stable extended neighbourhood. The second objective is to give an effective structure to our cooperation. This will establish a framework of regular interactions at different levels and among various stakeholders. And, the third objective is to create an ambitious roadmap for our cooperation. Through this, we will be able to adopt an integrated approach for regional connectivity and cooperation for the next 30 years," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the first India-Central Asia Summit.
The ministry of external affairs organised the summit virtually on Thursday which was attended by the heads of all five Central Asian countries -- Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan. It is an extension of the 3rd meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue which was held in New Delhi on 19 December 2021 under the chairmanship of the External Affairs Minister of India and attended by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of these countries.
Talking about the specific areas of cooperation with these five countries, Modi said that Kazakhstan has become a vital partner for India's energy security. Our state governments are also active partners in our growing cooperation with Uzbekistan. This includes my home state of Gujarat as well. We have an active partnership with Kyrgyzstan in the field of education and high-altitude research. Thousands of Indian students are studying there, the PM added.
With Tajikistan, we have longstanding security cooperation. And we are continuously strengthening it. Turkmenistan is an important part of the Indian vision in the field of regional connectivity, which is evident from our participation in the Ashgabat Agreement, he said.
India on Tuesday recorded 1,68,063 new Covid cases, taking the total tally to 8,21,446. Although the fresh infections were 6.4 per cent less than Monday when the country logged 1,79,723, the weekly positivity rate has climbed to 8.85 per cent and the daily positivity rate has declined to 10.64 per cent. On the other hand, 4,461 Omicron cases were recorded from 28 states.
Delhi reported a 25 per cent surge in Covid-19 cases after recording 19,166 fresh cases. With this, the infection tally has climbed to 15,68,896. Meanwhile, the city has recorded 17 Covid deaths on the second consecutive day, pushing the death toll to 25,177.
On Monday, after a detailed hearing in the matter, a bench, headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, said the court will set up a committee headed by a retired top court judge to probe the PM's security breach and asked both the Centre and Punjab government to not move ahead with their respective inquiries into the matter.
Several Supreme Court advocates on Monday claimed to have received an international call with a recorded message asking the apex court not to help the Central government by taking up a case connected with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security breach in Punjab last week.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress are projected to poll 40 per cent and 36 per cent votes in Punjab, respectively, as per the ABP-CVOTER Battle for the States survey. The 117-member Punjab Assembly will go to the polls on February 14, and the counting of votes will be taken up on March 10.
The highest quantity has been procured from Punjab (1,86,85,53 MT) followed by Chhattisgarh (67,65,986 MT) and Telangana (65,54,739 MT) while the highest number of farmers benefitted in are Chhattisgarh (16,90,459), Telangana (9,67,134) and Punjab (9,24,299).
