Rajnath Singh meets Defence Minister of Tajikistan, calls it a 'fruitful meeting'

The Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singh met his Tajikistan counterpart in Moscow on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. Rajnath Singh and the Defence Minister of Tajikistan, Colonel-General Sherali Mirzo discussed India-Tajikistan Defence relations. Singh tweeted pictures from the event and called it 'an extremely fruitful meeting'. He also met the Defence Ministers of other Central Asian countries during the SCO summit to boost the defence cooperation. 

India and Tajikistan are on friendly terms since the beginning and share great cultural as well as strategic and military ties aside from bilateral trade cooperation. India's first overseas military base has been built in Farkhor, Tajikistan. India has trained 35 Tajik cadets and 67 young officers at the National Defence Academy, Pune and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun and other training bases to induct them in the Tajik forces. India has also set up a military hospital in Tajikistan. 

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SCO Meet Updates 

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his Kazakhstan counterpart Lt. General Nurlan Yermekbayev and discussed India-Kazakhstan defence cooperation on the sidelines of the SCO meet. Singh also met Uzbekistan Defence Minister Major General Kurbanov Bakhodir Nizamovich in Moscow on Saturday. "Defence Cooperation remains an important pillar of India- Uzbekistan bilateral relations," said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in his tweet. 

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India-China Defence Ministers meet

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe on Friday in Moscow to discuss ways to resolve the prolonged border standoff in Ladakh. During the 2 hour-long meeting, Rajnath Singh called for the restoration of status quo ante at all friction points in eastern Ladakh. He also called out the Chinese for violating the bilateral agreement during his frank and in-depth conversation with the Chinese Defence Minister. The Defence Secretary, Ajay Kumar and the Indian Ambassador to Russia, DB Venkatesh Varma also accompanied the Defence Minister for the meeting held after a request from the Chinese Defence Minister General Wei.

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SCO Meet

Rajnath Singh went to Moscow on September 3 for the SCO meet which is being held from September 3 to September 5. The Defence Minister of Russian Federation, General Sergey Shoigu invited Singh for the meet to discuss bilateral cooperation and issues of mutual interest. The Defence Minister of India will be attending the combined meeting of Defence Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member States in commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of victory in the World War II. 

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(With inputs from ANI)