PM Modi pays tribute to Gandhi in Bishkek ahead of SCO summit
PM Modi paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi in Bishkek on Monday, ahead of the 26th SCO summit, and met Indian community members.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his official engagements in Kyrgyzstan on Monday by paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at his memorial in Bishkek. He also interacted with members of the Indian community and other groups in the Kyrgyz capital.
Modi arrived in Bishkek on Sunday to attend the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Leadership Summit, scheduled for August 31-September 1. He was received at the airport by Adylbek Kasymaliev, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, with a traditional Kyrgyz dance performance held to mark his arrival.
At his hotel, the Prime Minister was welcomed with chants of "Vande Mataram" and witnessed a yoga performance set to the patriotic song "Maa Tujhe Salaam", along with a cultural dance themed on Lord Shiva.
Modi is visiting at the invitation of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov. The 10-member SCO is marking the 25th anniversary of its founding this year. The grouping was established in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan; India and Pakistan joined in 2017, followed by Iran in 2023 and Belarus in 2024.
In a departure statement on Saturday, Modi said he looked forward to advancing India's vision for the region, anchored in "security, connectivity and opportunity", and to working with fellow SCO members for a region free from "terrorism, separatism and extremism".
His visit to Bishkek follows a two-day trip to Uzbekistan, during which the two countries agreed to elevate ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and set a target of $5 billion in annual bilateral trade by 2030.