Prime Minister Narendra Modi is beginning a significant diplomatic stretch with visits to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan ahead of India's BRICS Summit in September. The Modi SCO BRICS diplomacy agenda places security, connectivity, bilateral relations and wider Global South cooperation at the centre of India's engagement.
Modi Tashkent Visit
Prime Minister Modi will visit Tashkent on August 29 and 30 at the invitation of Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. According to the Prime Minister's Office, the two leaders are expected to review the India-Uzbekistan strategic partnership and discuss ways to deepen cooperation across areas of mutual interest.
The visit is Modi's fourth to Uzbekistan and comes as India seeks stronger political, economic and connectivity links with Central Asia. During his stay, he is also expected to visit the memorial associated with former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, who died in Tashkent in 1966.
The bilateral leg gives New Delhi an opportunity to strengthen engagement with a strategically important Central Asian partner before attention shifts to the region's largest multilateral gathering.
SCO Summit Bishkek
From Tashkent, Modi will travel to Bishkek for the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, scheduled for August 31 and September 1. The PMO said he will highlight India's priorities of security, connectivity and opportunity during the leaders' meeting.
India has been a full SCO member since 2017. The organisation currently brings together 10 member states, while Afghanistan and Mongolia hold observer status and 15 countries are dialogue partners. The grouping covers much of Eurasia and provides India with a platform to engage simultaneously with Russia, China, Central Asian states and other regional partners.
The summit comes amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty, continuing conflicts and growing debate over the future of the international order.
Modi Bilateral Meetings
Modi is also expected to use the SCO gathering for bilateral engagements with participating leaders. The PMO has confirmed that he will hold meetings with SCO leaders on the sidelines, although it has not publicly listed every bilateral engagement in advance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is among the major leaders expected at the gathering, making India-Russia ties an important area to watch. Economic cooperation between New Delhi and Moscow has expanded significantly, while the two governments continue regular high-level engagement despite wider geopolitical pressures.
Modi Xi Talks in Focus
Chinese President Xi Jinping will also attend the Bishkek SCO summit, according to China's Foreign Ministry. That has increased attention on whether Modi and Xi could hold a separate bilateral meeting.
No Modi-Xi meeting in Bishkek had been officially confirmed at the time of writing. The possibility remains significant because India and China recently held another round of high-level boundary discussions and agreed to maintain dialogue while seeking a mutually acceptable settlement of their border dispute.
Any interaction between the two leaders would therefore be closely watched for signals about the direction of India-China relations.
India BRICS Summit
The diplomatic calendar will continue with India hosting the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13. The Government of India has confirmed that the meeting will take place under India's 2026 BRICS chairship.
India's chairship carries the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.” Leaders are expected to discuss stronger intra-BRICS cooperation as well as major global and regional issues.
BRICS has evolved well beyond its original grouping of Brazil, Russia, India and China, giving the platform greater economic and geopolitical weight. With the SCO meeting followed closely by the New Delhi BRICS summit, the coming weeks will test India's ability to maintain relationships across competing power centres while advancing its own strategic priorities.
