India announced on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host the first India-Central Asia summit in a virtual format on January 27 as part of the country’s regional engagement.

The news comes after the government decided to hold Republic Day celebrations on January 26 without a foreign leader as the chief guest due to an increase in Covid-19 infections. The leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan had been invited as chief guests by the Indian side, though no formal announcement had been made by any of the countries.

The presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan will attend the virtual summit, which will be the “first engagement of its kind between India and the Central Asian countries at the level of leaders,” according to the external affairs ministry.

The summit reflects New Delhi’s growing engagement with Central Asian states, which are part of India’s “extended neighbourhood,” and is symbolic of the importance of a comprehensive and long-term partnership between India and Central Asia, according to the ministry.

The leaders are expected to discuss how to take India-Central Asia relations to new heights, as well as exchange views on regional and international issues, including “the evolving regional security situation,” according to the ministry.

In 2015, Modi visited all of the Central Asian states, and there were high-level exchanges at bilateral and multilateral forums. The third meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue at the level of foreign ministers, held in New Delhi in December, has boosted relations between the two countries.

“The participation of the secretaries of Central Asian countries’ National Security Councils in the Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan, held in New Delhi on November 10, 2021, outlined a common regional approach on Afghanistan,” the foreign affairs ministry said.

The fallout from the pandemic has disrupted the Republic Day celebrations for the second year in a row. According to people familiar with the situation, the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in recent weeks, as well as recent violent protests in Kazakhstan that resulted in the deaths of over 220 people, were factors that discouraged Central Asian leaders from participating.

Last year, India held shortened Republic Day celebrations without a chief guest after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson abruptly cancelled his visit due to the rapid spread of a Covid strain in the United Kingdom. It is extremely rare for the Republic Day celebrations, which are regarded as a high point in the diplomatic calendar of the country, to be devoid of a chief guest.

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