 Minister of State for External Affairs Shri M.J. Akbar visited Uzbekistan from 30 October to 01 November as special envoy of the Prime Minister to express condolences and pay respects at the grave of President Islam Karimov in Samarkand.On 09 June 2017 India became a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, of which Uzbekistan is a founding member.The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO-RATS) is headquartered in Tashkent.