He will travel to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. He will also go to Russia where he will attend the Summits of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Ufa, Russia.
“My first visit will be to Uzbekistan, which is the most populous country in Central Asia. India and Uzbekistan enjoy a close strategic partnership,” Modi said in a statement here, adding “I am confident that this visit will be a major step towards further expanding India-Uzbekistan ties”.
In Uzbekistan, he said, he would be holding talks with President Karimov and the two countries will sign “key agreements” to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
“We want to expand our economic ties with Uzbekistan and enhance trade and economic linkages,” he said.
Noting that Indian movies, Hindi language and music are very popular in Uzbekistan, Modi said he would be interacting with Indologists, students learning Hindi and members of the Indian community. There are over 3000 Indians in Uzbekistan.