Desk: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held separate bilateral meetings on Tuesday with his counterparts from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Belarus on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting. The discussions focused on enhancing defence cooperation and strengthening regional security partnerships.
In his meeting with the Kyrgyz Defence Minister, both sides agreed to further expand bilateral defence ties. Special emphasis was laid on cooperation in humanitarian assistance, disaster relief (HADR), and search and rescue operations. India also handed over two indigenously developed disaster relief and medical support units as part of its commitment to strengthening humanitarian cooperation.
In a separate meeting with the Defence Minister of Kazakhstan, the two leaders discussed regional security challenges, military training cooperation, and ways to deepen strategic engagement. Both sides expressed their commitment to building a long-term and comprehensive defence partnership.
Rajnath Singh also held talks with the Defence Minister of Belarus, where discussions focused on enhancing defence collaboration as well as improving coordination on regional stability and security issues.
According to the Defence Ministry, these meetings reflect India’s growing strategic outreach to Central Asian countries under multilateral platforms like the SCO. The focus is not only on traditional defence cooperation but also on expanding collaboration in areas such as technology sharing, disaster management, and capacity building.
Experts believe that such engagements highlight India’s increasing role in regional security architecture and its efforts to strengthen defence diplomacy with key partner countries in Central Asia.