INDIA and Uzbekistan on Sunday decided to elevate their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and set a target of USD 5 billion in annual trade by 2030, following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The two sides also agreed to establish a framework for longterm supply of Uranium from Uzbekistan to India in line with cooperation in the civil-nuclear energy sector. The Modi-Mirziyoyev talks focused on expanding cooperation in areas of trade, investment, infrastructure, critical minerals, mining, defence and security, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, health, information technology, digital public infrastructure, including UPI, and education. The two sides also set a target of USD 5 billion in annual bilateral trade by 2030, Modi said in his press statement. The current volume of bilateral trade between the two nations is over USD 1 billion. Both leaders announced the elevation of strategic ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership reflecting the growing depth and expanding scope of cooperation between India and Uzbekistan. They witnessed the exchange of several agreements, covering a wide range of areas, including mining, culture, education, tourism and ayurveda, among others.

 

“Uzbekistan is at the heart of Central Asia and is at the heart of India’s engagement in the region,” Modi said. The Prime Minister added: “A stronger India-Uzbekistan partnership will be a powerful force for peace, progress and prosperity in Central Asia.” Delving into the ambitious agenda of future cooperation between the two sides, Modi said India and Uzbekistan will encourage their defence industries to look at co-development and co-production of military hardware. The Uzbek President said his country is determined to boost ties with India in diverse sectors. “We are aiming to advance cooperation in sectors such as energy, culture, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, jewellery and agriculture.” “We will prepare roadmaps for each of these sectors; specific teams from India will visit here, and our teams will travel to India, enabling us to clearly define our objectives in these fields,” Mirziyoyev added. On trade and investment, he said issues relating to market access, banking, payment systems and connectivity will be addressed in a structured way. “The close defence and security cooperation between our two countries reflects our deep mutual trust. In the future, we will promote direct linkages, co-production, and co-development between our defence industries,” Modi said.