Rajnath holds talks with Uzbek, Kazakh and Belarusian counterparts in Tashkent

New Delhi, Aug 23: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday held separate bilateral talks with his Uzbek, Kazakh and Belarusian counterparts on the first day of his three-day visit to Tashkent. Singh is in Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan, to attend a conclave of the defence ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

"The entire spectrum of defence cooperation with the three countries was reviewed during the meetings, with focus on identifying avenues to expand mutually beneficial collaboration," the defence ministry said in a statement. Singh described as "wonderful" his meeting with Defence Minister of Kazakhstan, Col Gen Ruslan Zhakslykov.

"Had a wonderful meeting with the Defence Minister of Kazakhstan, Col Gen Ruslan Zhakslykov today in Tashkent. 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," he tweeted.

About his talks with Uzbek Defence Minister Lt Gen Bakhodir Kurbanov, Singh said both sides reviewed the bilateral defence ties. "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," Singh tweeted.

The talks with Belarusian Defence Minister Lt General Viktor Khrenin also focused on ways to boost bilateral defence cooperation. On Wednesday, Singh will attend the annual meeting of the defence ministers of the SCO member states. "Defence cooperation issues among the SCO Member States will be discussed during the meeting.

A joint communique is expected to be issued after the deliberations," the defence ministry said. The SCO meeting is expected to deliberate on regional security challenges, including the situation in Ukraine and Afghanistan. The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.