(Image source from: PM leaves for six-nation visit)

Prime Minister today left on an eight-day visit to five Central Asian countries and also Russia, aiming to enhance the strategic, economic and energy ties, besides attending Summits of BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The visit will start with Uzbekistan from where he will go to Kazakhstan tomorrow. He will then travel to Russia on July 8, before flying to Turkmenistan on July 10, Kyrgyzstan on July 11 and Tajikistan on July 12.

The SCO Summit may see India getting the membership of the six-nation grouping of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, which will be a major highlight of the visit. Presently, India is only an observer.

The Summit of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), will focus on the discussions on enhancing cooperation in economic field, including the possibility of trade in local currency.

During the visit, the focus will be on enhancing trade, which is “not impressive”, and cooperation in energy and security, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

There will be an effort to push the Turkmenistan- Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) project, which is crucial for India’s energy needs as it can bring gas from Central Asia.

By Premji