Jaishankar in Kazakh capital, holds talks with Uzbek, Turkmen counterparts

Nur Sultan (Kazakhstan)/New Delhi, Oct 11 (UNI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived today in the Kazakh capital to participate in the Conference of Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) ministerial meeting.
Jaishankar began the two-day visit with a bilateral meeting with his Uzbek counterpart Abdulaziz Kamilov. He later also held a meeting with the Turkmenistan Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov.
Afghanistan and the neighbourhood were the topics of discussion during the talks.
In a series of tweets, the EAM said: “Arrived in Nur-Sultan for the #CICAMinisterial2021 tomorrow.
“Began the visit with a bilateral meeting with Uzbek FM Abdulaziz Kamilov.
Our conversation focused on recent developments in Afghanistan.”
In another tweet, he said: “Good to meet FM Rashid Meredov of Turkmenistan.
“Discussed our bilateral and regional cooperation. Exchanged views on neighbohood developments. Agreed to remain in close touch.”
The EAM will attend the 6th Ministerial meeting of the Conference of Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) on Tuesday in Nur-Sultan, formerly called Astana.
Kazakhstan is the current Chair and initiator of the CICA Forum.
The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is a forum aimed at enhancing cooperation through elaborating multilateral approaches towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia. CICA was established at the initiative of then Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the 47th UNGA in 1992.
It has 27 members including India and Pakistan.
The region covered by CICA stretches from the Pacific to the Mediterranean and from the Ural to the Indian Ocean, covering more than 50 percent of the world’s population.
At last year’s virtual meet, India had hit out at Pakistan for raising the Kashmir issue at the forum, and termed it gross interference.