Maj Gen BK Sharma, AVSM, SM** (Retd), Director, United Service Institution of India (USI) participated in the maiden Indo-Uzbek think tanks forum summit at the ICWA. Inaugural remarks were made by Dr. TCA Raghavan, Director General, ICWA, followed by remarks by Ambassador Doniyor Kurbanov, Acting Director of the Centre for International Relation Studies, Uzbekistan. It was followed by address from Ambassador of Uzbekistan to India H.E Mr Farhod Arziev and Shri Suresh K.Reddy, Additional Secretary, MEA.
There were sessions each on global and regional issues, regional cooperation, bilateral relations and South Asia – Central Asia connectivity. The Director, USI chaired the second session, “India-Uzbekistan Cooperation in Regional Initiatives.” The session saw intensive discussion on the role of Afghanistan in the overall trajectory of Indo-Uzbek relations and broader importance of India-Uzbekistan cooperation for regional development both within and outside regional organizations.
Uzbekistan delegation comprised experts from Centre for International Relations Studies, Institute of Strategic and Regional Studies (ISRS), SCO Centre for Public Diplomacy and few others. Indian side besides ICWA comprised experts from Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), USI, Ladakh International Centre, India- central Asia Foundation (ICAF) and leading universities of India. India’s leading experts from diplomatic and strategic community participated in the event .A great initiative and potentially a harbinger for India – Central Asia Strategic Dialogue.