India Announces $1Bln Line Of Credit For Developmental Projects In Central Asia

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th October, 2020) The Indian authorities have announced the establishment of a $1 billion line of credit for "priority developmental projects" in five Central Asian countries, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said on Wednesday following the second meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue.

The meeting, which brought together Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and�Uzbekistan, the deputy foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan, and the acting foreign minister of Afghanistan, who was a special invitee, was held via videoconference, the ministry said.

"The Ministers of the Central Asian countries welcomed the provision by India of US$ 1 billion Line of Credit for priority developmental projects in fields such as connectivity, energy, IT, healthcare, education, agriculture etc.

," a press release published by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs read.

New Delhi has also offered to provide further grants for projects that will bolster socio-economic development in Central Asia, the ministry said.

During the meeting, ministers also discussed plans to bolster joint efforts to combat the coronavirus disease pandemic and enhance trade relations, the ministry said.

The first meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue was held in the Uzbek city of Samarkand in January 2019. The initiative was created with the aim of increasing cooperation between India and the countries of Central Asia in a range of economic and non-economic sectors.