New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) Central Asian leaders on Thursday acknowledged the interest of Indian educational institutions to set up campuses in their countries and emphasised on deepening of cooperation in the education sector.

The acknowledgement was made during the first India-Central Asia Summit, hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in virtual format.

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The summit was attended by presidents of five countries -- Kazakhstan's Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Uzbekistan's Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Tajikistan's Emomali Rahmon, Turkmenistan's Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow and Kyrgyz Republic's Sadyr Japarov.

"The Leaders emphasised deepening of cooperation in the education sector including the need to develop direct contacts between higher educational institutions of India and Central Asian countries. The Central Asian Leaders acknowledged the interest of Indian educational institutions to set up campuses in their countries. In this regard, the setting up of campuses by Sharda, Amity and Sambhram universities in Uzbekistan was specifically highlighted by the President of Uzbekistan," the Delhi declaration issued after the summit said.

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"Prime Minister of India conveyed his gratitude to Central Asian Leaders for ensuring the welfare of Indian students in their countries. The Central Asian Leaders welcomed India's proposal to host a 100-member youth delegation from the Central Asian countries every year to promote greater mutual understanding," it added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)