Indian Minister Nityanand Rai Meets Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov in Bishkek

Bishkek, June 5: Indian Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai met with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov on Friday in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. Rai is in the country to attend the meeting of interior ministers and public security from member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The Indian Embassy in Kyrgyzstan shared details on social media platform X, noting that Minister Rai had a courtesy meeting with President Japarov alongside heads of delegations from SCO member countries.

This meeting took place during the SCO interior ministers and public security council meeting, which is being held from June 4 to 6 in Bishkek, with Kyrgyzstan presiding over the event this year.

Nityanand Rai arrived in Bishkek on Thursday, where he was welcomed at Manas International Airport by Kyrgyz Minister of Internal Affairs Ulan Niyazbekov and Indian Ambassador Birender Singh Yadav.

Kyrgyzstan is holding the SCO presidency for the years 2025-26. President Japarov has set the theme for his presidency as “25 Years of SCO: Together Towards Sustainable Peace, Development, and Prosperity.”

Notably, in April, India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh also visited Kyrgyzstan to participate in the SCO defense ministers’ meeting.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established on June 15, 2001. Its founding members include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan joined the organization in 2017, while Iran and Belarus gained membership in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Currently, the SCO has 10 member countries.

The organization has two observer states, Afghanistan and Mongolia, and includes 14 dialogue partner countries, such as Nepal, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait.

Last month, India’s Deputy National Security Advisor Pavan Kapoor also participated in the 21st meeting of SCO security council secretaries held in Bishkek, where he discussed bilateral and regional issues with senior officials from Iran and Kyrgyzstan.