13 JULY 2015: India to sign many pacts with Kyrgyzstan

Ø  Voicing grave concern over the rising trend of extremism and terrorism the world over, India and Kyrgyzstan on Sunday signed four agreements including one to boost defence cooperation and hold annual joint military exercises. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived here on Saturday night as part of his eight-day six-nation tour of Central Asia, emphasised the need to combat terrorism and extremism which he described as a threat without borders. The agreements include those on defence cooperation and culture. An MoU each was signed for cooperation between the Election Commissions of the two countries and on cooperation in the sphere of Standards, a move that will help economic relations. It said the Indian side highly appreciated the steps taken by the Kyrgyz government in combating terrorism and in retaining the secular character of Kyrgyz society. Noting that the bilateral defence ties are strong, he said a joint exercise Khanjar 2015 has just been completed.