Modi's visit to 5 Islamic Nations on 06th July, 2015
Narendra Modi's visit to five Central Asian countries
It's a packed 5-nation, 9-day, visit for Prime Minister Modi as he heads to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, apart from Ufa in Russia.
Starting Monday, July 6, in the middle of the Muslim holy month of Ramzan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit five Central Asian countries that follow the moderate Hanafi school of Islam.
Modi is also scheduled to attend the BRICS (the grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summits in the Russian city of Ufa from July 9 to 10, making it the first time an Indian prime minister will attend the SCO meet.
Before arriving in Ufa, Modi will visit Tashkent, the Uzbekistan capital, and Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
After his engagement in Russia, Modi will visit Bishkek, Ashgabat and Dushanbe, the capitals of Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan respectively.
Tajikistan shares a border with Pakistan occupied Kashmir which India considers its territory. India spent $70 million to built a military air base at Ayni in Tajikistan, but could not deploy fighter aircraft there under Russian pressure.
India has at last shown a sense of urgency to connect with these countries, say Indian diplomats involved in the region.
While negotiating energy security and mineral resources, Modi will carry with him India's soft power in the form of music, arts, Bollywood films and television serials (Balika Vadhu is a current favourite in the region) to offer, along with the lure of the huge Indian market.
As and when the Chabahar port in Iran starts functioning full steam, India expects the two-way traffic with the Central Asian republics to multiply manifold.
Modi, who has a penchant for aggressively marketing his foreign tours with a flourish on television and social media, will make this six-country visit a high-profile one.
At the SCO summit in Russia, where Pakistan and India are likely to become member countries (currently, both nations have observer status), Modi will have an opportunity to meet his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif, whom he has kept in touch with regularly in recent months.
India and China are also likely to discuss bilateral issues on the sidelines at Ufa.
On Modi's latest visit overseas, brace yourself to hear about all kinds of wonderful Central Asian linkages with India from the leaders of the host countries and the Indian prime minister.
Modi's visit to Central Asia, which are intertwined with Indian history and folklore due to the spread of Buddhism and then, Islam, many centuries ago, is taking place at a time when the region is undergoing a transformation.
India is a latecomer to Central Asia, a region where China has made deep inroads. With $46 billion of trade in 2014, Beijing is the biggest trading partner for four of the region's five countries.
For political influence in the Central Asian republics there is, of course, none to match Russia. Until 1991 these countries were part of the erstwhile Soviet Union. Most of these republics have a large Russian population, more skilled than the natives.
Interestingly, Russia has sought Pakistan's help in dealing with Central Asia, especially the worrying rise of Islamic fundamentalism in these republics.
But Russia has a serious challenger for influence in China.
China has settled boundary issues with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, and its economic presence is clearly growing at Russia's expense.
Beijing has no qualms about the absence of democracy in the Central Asian republics which are ruled by dictators who win managed election after managed election.
Modi's journey to these countries is very different from his previous visits abroad. These nations are not located in India's immediate neighbourhood like Bhutan and Nepal nor are they Indian Ocean States like the Maldives. They are not rich or powerful as America, Japan, China, South Korea and Australia which Modi visited in the last year. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, in fact, are atop the list of least developing countries.
