More ‘resources and efforts’ required to nurture India-Central Asia links: S. Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said more efforts and resources need to be invested in improving India’s connectivity with Central Asia. Photo: X/@DrSJaishankar via PTI

More efforts and resources need to be invested in improving India’s connectivity with Central Asia, said External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday (June 5, 2025), highlighting the need for intensifying trade through the port of Chabahar in Iran. Speaking at the India-Central Asia Business Council meeting ahead of the fourth India-Central Asia Dialogue that is scheduled for Friday (June 6, 2025), Mr. Jaishankar expressed support for “mutual settlement of trade” in national currencies.

“We are discussing this under the Joint Working Group on Chabahar Port under the India-Central Asia platform,” said Mr. Jaishankar at the event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), referring to the requirements to energise the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), and greater use of Chabahar port to reduce travel distance and costs between India and Central Asia.

Mr. Jaishankar spoke at the event, which was also addressed by Murat Nurtleu, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan; Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Foreign Minister of Tajikistan; Rashid Meredov, Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan; and Saidov Bakhtiyor Odilovich, Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan.

At Friday’s (June 6, 2025) dialogue, the Ministers are expected to discuss trade, connectivity, technology, and development cooperation. “They will also share perspectives on challenges to regional security and other regional and global issues of mutual interest,” said the Ministry of External Affairs in an announcement regarding the Minister-level meeting. The Foreign Minister-level dialogue is being seen as significant as it comes a month after India conducted Operation Sindoor against terror targets in Pakistan and reached out to the Taliban administration in Afghanistan.

Mr. Jaishankar further urged the business chambers to come up with ideas for enhancing bilateral ties between India and Central Asia ahead of a possible India-Central Asia leadership summit that he said could be held “sometime in the not so distant future”. In the near future, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meet in Tianjin, China. The first India-Central Asia summit was held in virtual mode on January 27, 2022 when Mr. Modi had hosted the heads of governments of the Central Asian countries. The third meeting of the Foreign Ministers was held during December 18-20, 2021 in New Delhi.

“I would say closer engagements between our banks and financial sector will definitely strengthen our economic interaction. Some beginnings have been made in terms of opening of Special Rupee Vostro Accounts in Indian banks by Central Asian banks and there has also been some discussions about use of UPI [Unified Payment Interface]. I would certainly support that very strongly as also the steps we could take to facilitate mutual settlement of trade in our national currencies,” said Mr. Jaishankar.

Mr. Jaishankar said India-Central Asia bilateral trade had touched $2 billion and added the figure did “not reflect full potential”. “The need to address this is today more urgent because of the uncertainties of the international economy,” he said. Suggesting a way forward, he said the two sides should “deepen” existing trade links. Mr. Jaishankar picked the pharmaceuticals sector as an example as Central Asia is one of the largest markets of Indian pharma products.

Mr. Jaishankar presented uranium, crude oil, gas, mining, coal, and fertilizers as areas where long-term understanding can be reached between India and Central Asia. “India would be very happy to partner in platforms like Aadhaar, DigiLocker with our Central Asian partners… It will be of great help to our tourists and students,” said Mr. Jaishankar.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Nurtleu said Kazakhstan is trying to intensify connectivity between the ports on the Caspian Sea coast and the port of Bandar Abbas in Iran.