India, Uzbekistan upgrade ties, target USD 5 billion trade by 2030

Tashkent,UPDATED: Aug 30, 2026 16:18 IST

India and Uzbekistan on Sunday decided to elevate their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and set a target of USD 5 billion in annual bilateral trade by 2030 after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The two sides also agreed to create a framework for the long-term supply of uranium from Uzbekistan to India in line with cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector.

The talks focused on expanding cooperation in trade, investment, infrastructure, critical minerals, mining, defence and security, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, health, information technology, digital public infrastructure, including UPI, and education. Several agreements were exchanged in areas including mining, culture, education, tourism and ayurveda.

In his press statement, Modi said the current volume of bilateral trade between the two countries is over USD 1 billion. He said issues related to market access, banking, payment systems and connectivity would be addressed in a structured way. "Uzbekistan is at the heart of Central Asia and is at the heart of India's engagement in the region," Modi said. He added, "A stronger India-Uzbekistan partnership will be a powerful force for peace, progress and prosperity in Central Asia."

Speaking about the future agenda, Modi said the two countries would encourage their defence industries to look at co-development and co-production of military hardware. "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," he said. On regional security, Modi said, "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."

Modi, who landed in Tashkent on Saturday on a two-day visit, said the two countries were marking 15 years of their strategic partnership. "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," he said in his opening remarks at the bilateral talks. "We will move forward by setting concrete goals within this framework," he said in Hindi. He also referred to the "productive talks" he had with Mirziyoyev over dinner on Saturday night, saying, "We had a productive discussion over dinner last night and took several important decisions."

Modi said a Coordination Council at the level of foreign ministers would be set up to guide all aspects of cooperation through close coordination. He also said the existing joint commission would be raised from the level of secretaries to the ministerial level, and that both sides would jointly organise a business summit with business leaders from the two countries. "We will also establish a long-term arrangement for the supply of uranium," he said, without giving further details.

A Letter of Intent was also agreed for the restoration and conservation of the Buddhist sites of Fayaz Tepa and Kara Tepa in Uzbekistan. The ancient Buddhist monasteries in southern Uzbekistan reflect the spread of Buddhism along the Silk Road and its growth in Central Asia.

Mirziyoyev said Uzbekistan was determined to deepen ties with India across sectors. "We are aiming to advance cooperation in sectors such as energy, culture, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, jewellery and agriculture," he said. He added, "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." Overall, the talks produced a broader framework for ties, a higher trade target and new sector-specific plans, while placing India-Uzbekistan cooperation on an upgraded footing.

With PTI Inputs

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