India and Uzbekistan on Sunday elevated their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and set a target of USD 5 billion in annual bilateral trade by 2030, following talks between Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, news agency PTI reported.
The two sides also agreed to establish a framework for the long-term supply of uranium from Uzbekistan to India as part of their cooperation in the civil-nuclear energy sector.
The Modi-Mirziyoyev talks focused on expanding cooperation in trade, investment, infrastructure, critical minerals, mining, defence and security, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, information technology, digital public infrastructure, including Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and education.
The current volume of bilateral trade between the two countries is more than USD 1 billion. PM Modi announced the USD 5 billion trade target in his press statement.
The two leaders announced the elevation of their strategic ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, reflecting the growing depth and expanding scope of cooperation between India and Uzbekistan.
They also 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.”
India, Uzbekistan to boost defence cooperation
Outlining the ambitious agenda for future cooperation, PM Modi said India and Uzbekistan would encourage their defence industries to explore co-development and co-production of military hardware.
On trade and investment, he said issues relating to market access, banking, payment systems, and connectivity would be addressed in a structured manner.
“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,” PM Modi stated.
“We believe that terrorism, extremism, and separatism pose serious challenges to the entire region,” he added.
“Maintaining a policy of zero tolerance against these threats has been, and will continue to be, our shared resolve,” said the Indian PM.
India, Uzbekistan agree on conservation of Buddhist sites
A Letter of Intent for the restoration and conservation of the Buddhist sites of Fayaz Tepa and Kara Tepa in Uzbekistan was also agreed upon.
The ancient Buddhist monasteries in southern Uzbekistan highlight how Buddhism spread along the Silk Road and flourished in Central Asia.
Modi landed in Tashkent on Saturday on a two-day visit aimed at bolstering ties with Uzbekistan across areas including trade, investment, defence and clean energy.
“We are celebrating the 15th anniversary of our strategic partnership. I am delighted that, on this special occasion, we are elevating our ties to the level of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” Modi said in his opening remarks at the bilateral talks on Sunday.
“We will move forward by setting concrete goals within this framework,” he said in Hindi.
The prime minister also referred to the “productive talks” he had with the Uzbek President over dinner on Saturday night.
“We had a productive discussion over dinner last night and took several important decisions,” Modi said.
He stated that the two countries would establish a Coordination Council at the level of foreign ministers to provide direction to all aspects of their cooperation through close coordination.
The existing joint commission between the two countries will also be elevated from the level of secretaries to the ministerial level, Modi said. Both sides will jointly organise a business summit featuring business leaders from the two countries.
“We will also establish a long-term arrangement for the supply of uranium,” he stated, without sharing further details.
Mirziyoyev said Uzbekistan was determined to strengthen ties with India across 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.
(With PTI inputs)
PM Modi, Mirziyoyev elevate India-Uzbekistan ties to strategic partnership
