Tashkent: India and Uzbekistan on Sunday elevated their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with the two countries agreeing to deepen cooperation in defence, security, trade, energy and connectivity.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the decision after talks with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The move coincides with the 15th anniversary of the strategic partnership between the two countries.
“On this special occasion, we have decided to elevate our relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. We will move forward by setting concrete goals within this new framework,” PM Modi said at a joint press conference.
He also described Uzbekistan as being “at the heart of Central Asia” and central to India’s engagement with the region.
PM Modi said the close defence and security cooperation between India and Uzbekistan reflected the deep mutual trust between the two countries.
“In the coming years, we will promote direct linkages, co-production and co-development between the defence industries of our two countries,” he said.
The Prime Minister said India and Uzbekistan viewed terrorism, extremism and separatism as major challenges to regional stability and shared a policy of zero tolerance towards them.
PM Modi said bilateral trade had crossed $1 billion and that the two countries had now set a target of taking it to $5 billion by 2030.
“To achieve this, we will move systematically in areas such as market access, connectivity, banking and payments,” he said.
India and Uzbekistan will also work together on infrastructure projects that create opportunities for both countries. The two sides plan to organise a joint business summit involving companies and industry leaders from India and Uzbekistan.
The two countries also agreed to deepen energy cooperation. PM Modi said they were working to establish a long-term arrangement for the supply of uranium to India.
New Delhi has been exploring uranium imports from Uzbekistan to support the generation of nuclear energy for civilian purposes. Clean energy was among the key areas discussed during PM Modi’s two-day visit.
The two sides will also establish a Coordination Council led by their foreign ministers to guide different areas of bilateral cooperation. Their existing joint commission will be upgraded from the secretary level to the ministerial level.
PM Modi said agreements signed in traditional medicine would strengthen joint efforts in the sector.
He added that the partnership should not remain limited to New Delhi and Tashkent. India and Uzbekistan will establish partnerships between their cities and states to widen engagement at the local level.
Highlighting the similarities between the development goals of the two countries, PM Modi said youth, innovation, inclusive growth and modern technology were central to both “New Uzbekistan” and “Viksit Bharat 2047”.
“There is a deep similarity between the aspirations and thinking of India and Uzbekistan. Guided by this shared vision, we are working continuously for the welfare of our people,” he said.
During the visit, President Mirziyoyev conferred Uzbekistan’s highest state honour, the Order of “Oliy Darajali Dustlik”, on PM Modi. It was the Prime Minister’s 36th international award.
PM Modi described receiving the honour as a moment of pride and dedicated it to the friendship between India and Uzbekistan and to 1.4 billion Indians.
Reflecting on the name of the award, he said “Dostlik” meant friendship and noted that Indians were familiar with the word “dost”, or friend.
PM Modi said “Dostlik” captured the spirit of India-Uzbekistan relations and stressed that the honour was not for one individual but for the people of India.
