TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 30: India and Uzbekistan have set an ambitious target of increasing bilateral trade fivefold to USD 5 billion by 2030, driven by expanded market access, improved connectivity and modern banking channels.
Delivering a press statement alongside Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent, Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed trade expansion at the center of the bilateral agenda and noted that the ambitious target builds on current trade, which has crossed USD 1 billion.
He emphasized that the two countries have decided to elevate their diplomatic ties to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” marking 15 years of strategic relations.
“This year marks 15 years of our strategic partnership. On this special occasion, we have decided to elevate our relations to a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.’ We have prepared an ambitious agenda to move forward with speed. Our bilateral trade has crossed USD 1 billion, and we have now set a target of USD 5 billion by 2030. To achieve this, we will systematically move forward on market access, connectivity and banking,” PM Modi said.
Alongside economic targets, PM Modi said India and Uzbekistan had reaffirmed their commitment to regional security, defense cooperation and countering non-state threats in Central Asia.
“Close defense and security cooperation reflect our mutual trust. We believe terrorism, extremism and separatism are serious challenges for the region, and zero tolerance against them remains our shared resolve,” he added.
Meanwhile, President Mirziyoyev described PM Modi’s two-day state visit to the Central Asian nation as “historic” and said the Indian prime minister had made an “invaluable personal contribution” to achieving the important milestone in bilateral relations.
“As a result of today’s historic visit and our productive talks, we have elevated relations between our friendly countries to the level of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This is truly historic,” Mirziyoyev said.
On bilateral trade, Mirziyoyev said the current trade turnover of USD 1 billion between India and Uzbekistan should not be considered the limit and expressed confidence that the two countries could significantly expand their economic ties.
“The current trade turnover of one billion US dollars is not the limit. We are still far from achieving our goals. We are aiming for five billion US dollars as the first benchmark, and I truly believe that in the future we can easily achieve a trade turnover of ten billion US dollars,” he said.
India and Uzbekistan have maintained diplomatic relations since March 18, 1992, when the protocol establishing diplomatic ties was signed in Tashkent. India was among the first countries to recognize Uzbekistan’s sovereignty following its independence.
The two countries elevated their relationship to a Strategic Partnership in 2011. Since then, the bilateral partnership has been supported by several institutional mechanisms at the political and official levels to facilitate regular engagement.
PM Modi’s current visit is his first visit to Uzbekistan since 2015. He also visited the country in 2016 and 2022 to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summits.
The India-Uzbekistan relationship has also witnessed several high-level exchanges, including President Mirziyoyev’s state visit to India in 2018 and his participation in the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in 2019. (ANI)
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