PM Modi's Uzbekistan visit and SCO summit advance India's Central Asia outreach

Gist Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to undertake a state visit to Uzbekistan followed by participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization SCO summit in Kyrgyzstan. This diplomatic outreach signifies a definitive shift from India's historical reluctance to assert itself in Central Asia, opting instead to actively build economic, strategic, and connectivity partnerships. For a civil services aspirant, this development is crucial as it highlights India's evolving "Extended Neighbourhood" policy, the strategic navigation of the China-Pakistan axis within the SCO, and efforts to secure energy and connectivity pathways bypassing traditional geographical hurdles. Background Historically, India maintained an unstated policy of keeping a polite distance from Central Asia, deferring to Russia's traditional sphere of influence in its periphery. This approach ended with PM Modi’s landmark visit to all five Central Asian republics in 2015 , which recalibrated India's strategy from deference to direct engagement. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization SCO , which originated as the "Shanghai Five" in 1996 , is a primary Eurasian political, economic, and security bloc. India was inducted as a full member of the SCO in 2017 with…