Recent Developments:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi is undertaking a four-day visit to Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic from 29 August to 1 September 2026, reflecting India’s renewed strategic engagement with Central Asia.
- The Prime Minister visited Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on 29–30 August for bilateral discussions aimed at strengthening cooperation in trade and investment, digital connectivity, defence, energy, education and people-to-people exchanges.
- He subsequently travelled to Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, to participate in the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, held from 31 August to 1 September 2026.
- India, a full member of the SCO since 2017, is expected to emphasise its regional vision centred on Security, Connectivity and Opportunity, while advocating collective action against terrorism, separatism and extremism.
- The visit assumes greater geopolitical significance because Central Asia has emerged as an important arena of interaction among Russia, China, India, Western powers and other regional actors.
Central Asia: Strategic and Geographic Significance:
The Five Central Asian Republics:
- Central Asia comprises five post-Soviet republics—Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan—located at the strategic intersection of Russia, China, South Asia, West Asia and Europe.
- The region's location gives it considerable geopolitical significance because it can influence continental connectivity, energy transportation and regional security across Eurasia.
- Historically, Central Asia remained closely connected with Russia through political, economic and linguistic networks, while China has substantially expanded its economic and infrastructure footprint during the post-Soviet period.
- The region has therefore increasingly become a theatre of geopolitical competition and geo-economic engagement, rather than remaining confined to the influence of a single major power.
India’s Extended Neighbourhood:
- India officially considers the Central Asian countries part of its Extended Neighbourhood, reflecting the region's direct relevance to India's strategic and economic interests.
- India's engagement received greater institutional momentum through the Connect Central Asia Policy, announced in 2012, which emphasised political cooperation, security engagement, economic relations and connectivity.
- Prime Minister Modi further elevated this outreach by becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to visit all five Central Asian countries in 2015.
- The first India-Central Asia Summit in January 2022 institutionalised leader-level engagement, with the participating countries agreeing to hold the summit every two years and establish supporting ministerial and official-level mechanisms.
Why Central Asia Matters to India:
Energy and Mineral Security:
- Central Asia possesses substantial reserves of uranium, hydrocarbons and strategic minerals, making it important for India's long-term energy and resource security.
- Kazakhstan possesses significant uranium and mineral resources and has emerged as an important partner for India's civilian nuclear energy requirements.
- Turkmenistan possesses major natural gas reserves and is central to the proposed Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India gas pipeline.
- Uzbekistan possesses substantial reserves of gold, uranium and natural gas, while the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan possess considerable hydropower potential.
- Diversified access to these resources can reduce India's vulnerability to excessive dependence on limited geographical sources of energy and critical minerals.
Strategic Balancing:
- China's economic influence in Central Asia has expanded substantially through trade, infrastructure investments and the Belt and Road Initiative.
- India’s deeper engagement provides Central Asian countries with additional strategic and economic partnerships, thereby supporting their objective of maintaining strategic autonomy and diversified external relations.
- India's approach should not be viewed solely through the prism of competition with China, as the region also offers opportunities for cooperative regional development and multipolar engagement.
- Nevertheless, sustained Indian engagement is important to prevent the strategic space of Central Asia from becoming excessively dominated by any single external power.
Regional Security:
- Central Asia's proximity to Afghanistan makes regional stability directly relevant to India's security interests.
- The Taliban's return to power has intensified concerns regarding terrorism, radicalisation, extremism and the possible movement of transnational terrorist organisations.
- Central Asian states and India therefore share an interest in preventing Afghanistan from becoming a source of cross-border instability.
- The SCO provides India with an important multilateral platform to discuss regional security challenges alongside Central Asian countries, Russia and China.
Connectivity: India’s Major Strategic Challenge:
Lack of Direct Overland Access:
- India faces a structural connectivity challenge because it lacks direct overland access to Central Asia through Pakistan.
- This geographical constraint increases transportation costs and limits the volume of direct trade between India and the landlocked Central Asian republics.
- Improving connectivity is therefore one of the most important requirements for converting India's historical and diplomatic links into sustained economic engagement.
International North–South Transport Corridor:
- The International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) provides an important alternative connectivity framework linking India with Eurasia through maritime, rail and road networks.
- Integration of the corridor with Iran's Chabahar Port can potentially provide India with greater access to Afghanistan and Central Asia without dependence on Pakistani territory.
- Chabahar therefore has significance beyond bilateral India-Iran relations and represents an important component of India's broader Eurasian connectivity strategy.
- Greater coordination between India, Iran and Central Asian countries can help develop economically viable multimodal routes.
Central Asia and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation:
Importance of the SCO for India:
- The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was established in 2001 and has evolved into an important Eurasian platform for cooperation on security, political issues and regional economic engagement.
- India became a full member in 2017, enabling it to participate more directly in discussions affecting Central Asian security and regional connectivity.
- The organisation allows India to maintain institutional engagement with Central Asian states while simultaneously interacting with major Eurasian powers.
- India's priorities at the SCO include combating terrorism, separatism and extremism, strengthening connectivity and expanding mutually beneficial economic cooperation.
Limitations of the SCO:
- The SCO includes states with significant strategic rivalries and divergent geopolitical interests, which can limit consensus and effective implementation.
- India must therefore use the organisation as one component of a broader Central Asia strategy rather than relying exclusively on multilateral engagement.
- Bilateral partnerships with individual Central Asian countries remain essential because their economic priorities and security concerns differ significantly.
Civilisational and Cultural Connections:
Historical Linkages:
- India and Central Asia share centuries-old connections through trade routes, migration, Buddhism, cultural exchanges and historical empires.
- The region historically served as an important connecting space between the Indian subcontinent and wider Eurasia.
- Such civilisational connections provide India with a form of soft power, which can complement contemporary strategic and economic engagement.
India–Uzbekistan Cultural Relations:
- Uzbekistan occupies a particularly important place in India's historical engagement with Central Asia.
- Termez and the Kara Tepa archaeological complex provide important evidence of the historical spread of Buddhism and cultural interaction between the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia.
- Shared linguistic and cultural influences are also visible in aspects of vocabulary, food and historical traditions.
- These connections can support greater cooperation in education, tourism, cultural exchanges, academic research and people-to-people relations.
Economic and Development Cooperation:
Expanding Trade and Investment:
- Central Asia offers opportunities for India in pharmaceuticals, information technology, digital services, education, healthcare, mining and infrastructure development.
- Uzbekistan has emerged as an important economic partner, and the current visit seeks to further expand cooperation in trade, investment, defence, digital connectivity and energy.
- Stronger institutional connectivity and improved transport corridors will be necessary for India to fully utilise the region's commercial potential.
Development Partnership:
- India can strengthen its regional profile through capacity building, education, digital public infrastructure, healthcare cooperation and technical assistance.
- These sectors allow India to differentiate its engagement by focusing on human-centric and demand-driven development partnerships.
- Such cooperation can create long-term goodwill without generating excessive debt dependence or political sensitivity.
Major Challenges for India:
Connectivity Constraints:
- The absence of direct land connectivity remains the most significant practical obstacle to expanding India-Central Asia trade.
- Alternative routes through Iran and the wider Eurasian connectivity network require sustained infrastructure development and political coordination.
Regional Security Uncertainty:
- Instability in Afghanistan continues to pose risks relating to terrorism, extremism and cross-border organised crime.
- A deteriorating regional security environment can undermine economic projects and transport corridors.
Great-Power Competition:
- Central Asia is witnessing increasing engagement from China, Russia, the United States, Türkiye, the European Union and other regional powers.
- India must expand its influence without forcing Central Asian countries to choose between competing geopolitical blocs.
Economic Competition:
- India's economic presence remains smaller than that of several major regional powers, particularly China.
- India therefore requires greater private-sector participation and commercially viable projects to complement government-led diplomacy.
Way Forward:
Build Reliable Connectivity:
- India should accelerate coordination on Chabahar Port and the International North–South Transport Corridor while exploring additional multimodal links with Central Asian partners.
- Connectivity projects must focus on commercial viability, predictable logistics and sustained institutional coordination.
Strengthen Security Cooperation:
- India should expand cooperation in counter-terrorism, intelligence sharing, border management, cyber security and capacity building.
- Regular dialogue on Afghanistan should remain an important component of India-Central Asia engagement.
Deepen Economic Integration:
- India should focus on sectors where it possesses comparative advantages, including pharmaceuticals, digital technology, education, healthcare and renewable energy.
- Greater business-to-business engagement is required to transform diplomatic goodwill into sustained economic partnerships.
Expand People-to-People Relations:
- Scholarships, academic exchanges, cultural programmes and tourism can strengthen India's long-term societal connections with Central Asia.
- Civilisational diplomacy should complement rather than substitute for modern economic and strategic engagement.
Conclusion:
- Prime Minister Modi's Central Asia visit reflects India's sustained effort to transform the region into a more important pillar of its Extended Neighbourhood and Eurasian strategy.
- Central Asia is significant for India's energy security, mineral access, regional security, connectivity and geopolitical influence.
- However, India's ambitions remain constrained by limited direct connectivity and intense geopolitical competition.
- A successful long-term strategy will require India to combine connectivity diplomacy, economic engagement, security cooperation and civilisational soft power.
- The ultimate objective should be to develop Central Asia as a region of shared prosperity and strategic stability, while ensuring that India's interests remain meaningfully represented in the evolving Eurasian geopolitical order
