Sushma Swaraj embarks on visit to three Central Asian countries

"Advancing our growing engagement with an extended neighbourhood! EAM @SushmaSwaraj embarks on a visit to 3 Central Asian countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz & Uzbekistan - from 2-5 August," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

This will be Swaraj's first visit to these countries as EAM.

According to the itinerary released by the MEA, during her visit to Astana, EAM will hold a bilateral meeting with  Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. She will call on the leadership of the country and interact with the Indian community in Kazakhstan.

The next leg of the visit would take EAM to Kyrgyzstan where she would interact with Erlan Abdyldaev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic. She will also call on the leadership of the Kyrgyz Republic.

In the last segment of her three-nation Central Asian tour, EAM would arrive in Tashkent on  August 4. Here she would hold in-depth discussions with Abdulaziz Kamilov, Minister of Foreign Affairs. She will also call on the leadership of Uzbekistan.

Her visit will include interaction with indologists and members of the Indian community. She will also offer floral tributes at the memorial of former Prime Minister of India late Lal Bahadur Shastri.

EAM's visit to the three Central Asian countries is her first visit to these countries as External Affairs Minister. The visit is in pursuit of India’s objective of enhanced engagement with this region which is India’s extended neighbourhood. It will provide an opportunity to hold in-depth discussions with the political leadership on a wide range of global, regional and bilateral issues and will advance India's growing engagement with the Central Asian Region, the MEA said.