Rajnath talks to CAR ministers, next on diary is meet in Tehran

NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh held a flurry of meetings with his counterparts from Central Asian Republics (CAR) in Moscow on Saturday morning before leaving for Iran on his way back to India from Russia.
Singh held bilateral meetings with Colonel General Sherali Mizo (Tajikistan), Major General Kurbanov Bakhodir Nizamovic (Uzbekistan), and Lt Gen Nurlan Yermekbayev (Kazakhstan), in keeping with India’s policy to further step up military and economic ties with the energy and minerals-rich CAR.
Singh then left for Tehran for an important visit that comes amid the ongoing tension in West Asia and the Gulf after the United States brokered a deal between Israel and UAE, much to Iran’s dismay. India has strong ties with all the parties involved.
Singh is slated to hold discussions with Iranian defence minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami on Saturday.
India has a huge strategic stake in the Chabahar port in Iran, which will give it access to Afghanistan and CAR by bypassing Pakistan.