PM’s SCO visit is loaded with expectations on BRICS Summit and UNSC election
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic to strengthen India's engagement with Central Asia and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The trip aims to address connectivity challenges and advance India's interests in upcoming multilateral platforms like BRICS and the UN Security Council.
Why it matters
The visit is critical for India's geopolitical strategy to counter China's growing influence in Central Asia and to revive stalled regional connectivity projects.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s four-day visit to Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic is more than just an outreach to two important states in Central Asia or the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The agenda will include engagements aimed at three additional multilateral platforms — the upcoming BRICS Summit in September, the two-year UN Security Council term of 2028-2029, and planning for the long-pending India-Central Asia Summit, which has not met since 2022. Experts say the delay has led to speculation in the region that New Delhi has lost interest in the engagement, particularly compared with Mr. Modi’s first foray in 2015, when he visited all five Central Asian states. His biggest challenge during this visit will be to reverse that perception.
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