If they accept, this will be the first time all five central Asian leaders would attend Republic Day parade together.
India invited leaders of five Central Asian nations to attend as chief guests of Republic Day 2022, and now is waiting for responses of the leaders. And the details of the visits expected to be finalized during the ministerial level meeting of the India-Central Asia foreign minister’s dialogue, which External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will host this weekend in Delhi.
Government Officials confirmed that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has reached out to governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to confirm their attendance, as is the protocol for Republic Day guests before a formal invitation is handed over.
According to the officials, uncertainty over the COVID-19 situation, as well as the extra coordination required for multiple invitations, has created the delay in the invitation process, which is normally wrapped up by December each year.
If the central Asian leaders accept the invitation, this will be the first time all five countries would attend the Republic Day parade together, although Kazakhstan’s former President Nursultan Nazarbayez was the chief guest in 2009. The confirmation and details of the leaders visit will be set and fixed collectively in the upcoming 3rd India-Central Asia Dialogue.
Diplomats said the invitation was part of India’s relation building with the former Soviet States that has intensified since 2015 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited all five capitals. India also joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2017, which all Central Asian States other than Turkmenistan are members of. And The India-Central Asia dialogue was launched in 2019, and in July this year, Mr. Jaishankar attended the Central Asia-South Asia connectivity conference in Uzbekistan. Last month, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval also held a regional security dialogue on Afghan issues. It included the NSAs and Secretaries of Security Councils in the five Central Asian States, along with Russia and Iran.
Maritime connectivity
“The invitation also indicates that India wants to increase its connections to the region, where land connectivity has been difficult due to Pakistan’s [obstructive] position,” former Ambassador to Tashkent Vinod Kumar told The Hindu. “Maritime connectivity remains important and game changing, and the Republic Day meeting will help strengthen India’s initiatives through Chabahar and through the International North South Transport Corridor,” he added.
The initiatives to invite Presidents Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan, and Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, is also part of the Modi government’s attempts to bring together immediate neighbours and “far neighbours” in a group format on multiple occasions.
Prime Minister Modi invited SAARC and BIMSTEC group leaders to his swearing in ceremonies in 2014 and 2019 respectively, and invited 10 leaders of the ASEAN as Republic Day guests in 2018.
Government personals also said the reconstruction of the Central Vista, as well as worries about another wave of COVID-19 has meant that the Republic Day parade may need to be amended or truncated in 2022. In January 2021, the government decided to reduce the parade size and attendees even after the confirmed Chief Guest, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, pulled out a few weeks prior to Republic Day because of a high rise in COVID-19 cases.
Source: The Hindu
