Tashkent: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday held bilateral meetings with his counterparts Col Gen Ruslan Zhakslykov from Kazakh and Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin from Belarus on the sidelines of the SCO Defence Ministers Meeting in Tashkent.

The Ministers discussed defence and security cooperation as well as other issues of mutual interest.

Taking to Twitter, Defence Minister wrote, "Had a wonderful meeting with the Defence Minister of Kazakhstan, Col Gen Ruslan Zhakslykov today in Tashkent. We discussed the entire gamut of the ongoing defence and security cooperation & other issues of mutual interest. We agreed to further deepen the defence cooperation."

"Held talks with the Belarusian Defence Minister, Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin in Tashkent. We reviewed the full range of bilateral defence ties and deliberated on ways to enhance cooperation between both the countries," Singh said in another tweet.

Earlier, in the day he had a meeting with Uzbekistan counterpart Lt Gen Bakhodir Kurbanov during which both leaders reviewed India-Uzbekistan defence ties.

Taking to Twitter, Rajnath Singh said that the cooperation between both countries is based on a solid foundation.

"Had an excellent meeting with the Defence Minister of Uzbekistan, Lt Gen Bakhodir Kurbanov in Tashkent. During our talks, we reviewed the India-Uzbekistan defence relationship. Our cooperation is based on a solid foundation and it will continue to grow over the coming decades," he tweeted.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Tashkent on Tuesday to attend the SCO Defence Ministers Meeting, which is to take place on August 24.

"Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh reached Tashkent in Uzbekistan to attend the SCO Defence Ministers' Meeting and also hold bilateral meetings with Uzbekistan's Defence Minister, Lieutenant General Bakhodir Kurbanov," the office of the Defence Minister of India tweeted.

During the Annual Meeting, the SCO Member States will discuss defence cooperation and it is expected that a joint communique will be issued after the deliberations. Rajnath Singh's address at the meeting is slated to be held on August 24, 2022.

In addition, meetings are also scheduled with Defence Ministers' of some other Member countries of SCO on the sidelines of this meeting, where bilateral issues and issues of mutual interest will be discussed. During the stay in Tashkent, Rajnath Singh shall pay homage at the monument of Late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and meet the Indian Diaspora in Uzbekistan, it added.

Earlier, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) interior minister meeting in Uzbekistan, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai called for stern action against terrorism and drug trafficking.

The minister also presented an account of India's robust Covid response globally. In a Tweet, India Embassy in Tashkent wrote, "At SCO interior ministers meet in Tashkent, MoS Nityanand Rai called for stringent action against terrorism & drug trafficking and cooperation in cyber security. Presented India's robust covid response globally."

MoS Rai and Tajik Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda met in Tashkent to discuss bilateral security cooperation, training and capacity building. Furthermore, regional situations and issues of mutual interest were emphasised.

Rai also called on Uzbek Interior Minister Pulat Bobojonov in Tashkent where both the leaders discussed strengthening security cooperation including tackling challenges of terrorism and drug trafficking in the region.

Deputy Secretary General, International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO) commonly known as Interpol, James Stephen also called on MoS Rai in Tashkent.

"Preparations for upcoming Interpol General Assembly in Oct in India were discussed. Expansion of India's cooperation with Interpol to include new and emerging areas was emphasised," the Embassy said.

Uzbekistan, the current chair of the organization, will host the annual summit in the city of Samarkand on September 15-16. Earlier, a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the SCO member states was also held in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent.