Hugely symbolic visit of PM Modi to the Kyrgyz Republic: Indian Envoy 

Preparations are underway in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit is all set to beginon Thursday. WION's Sidhant Sibal spoke to Indian envoy Alok A Dimri in Bishkek on various topics including, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country and the relationship between both the countries.

WION: How do you see the relationship between the two countries?

Alok A Dimri: The relationship is fantastic. PM Modi was here in 2015, and this is a repeat visit in four years. It was a historic moment that PM undertook a combined visit of all five central Asian countries and thereafter Kyrgyz president undertook a visit to India in 2016. President of Kyrgyz Republic was also a special invitee at Prime Minister's swearing-in ceremony, just a week ago.

This is a hugely symbolic and highly interesting occasion for us and for the bilateral relationship. We have been able to maintain a momentum of very high-level visits and exchanges and this is definitely the first significant visit outside the neighbourhood and Modi's first multilateral visit to this geography. India and our Kyrgyz partners are expecting good results.

WION: How important SCO is for India?

Alok A Dimri: We live in a globalised world. The distances are much shorter and multilateralism of this order is the new order of the world relationship. So yes, there are very important multilateral platforms in which our leaders visit, travel and get engaged with each other. SCO is one of them. You have heard of BRICS, you have heard of G-20 and India is a significant economy, significant society and significant world power in today's sense and all global initiative have India on board. In that context, our engagement through multilateral platforms is natural. So for SCO summit is concerned, let us wait.

WION: How is India helping central Asia connect?

Alok A. Dimri: For us, it is very logical and interesting that we deepen our trade and commercial linkages. We need to bring our products and more of our entrepreneurs, it is like more of Kyrgyz business community to travel to India. Our distances are not large, our flying time is three hours, we are barely a thousand kilometres, so there are a whole lot of natural convergences which along with historical context ensure that we come much closer.