Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who reached Tashkent on Tuesday, held bilateral meetings with his Uzbek counterpart Lieutenant General Bakhodir Kurbanov and Kazakhstan counterpart Col. Gen. Ruslan Faithovich Zhakslykov.
Mr. Singh is on a three-day visit to attend the annual meeting of the Defence Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) grouping.
“Had an excellent meeting with the Defence Minister of Uzbekistan, Lt. Gen. Bakhodir Kurbanov in Tashkent. During our talks, we reviewed the India-Uzbekistan defence relationship. Our cooperation is based on a solid foundation and it will continue to grow over the coming decades,” Mr. Singh said on Twitter.
On his meeting with Col. Gen. Zhakslykov, he said, “We discussed the entire gamut of the ongoing defence and security cooperation & other issues of mutual interest. We agreed to further deepen the defence cooperation.”
During the annual meeting, defence cooperation issues among the SCO member-states will be discussed and it is expected that a joint communiqué will be issued after the deliberations, a Defence Ministry release said.
Mr. Singh is scheduled to address the SCO defence ministers’ meeting on Wednesday. He will also interact with the Indian community there.
