India and Uzbekistan on Sunday elevated their bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and set a target of increasing annual bilateral trade to USD 5 billion by 2030, following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent.
The two countries also agreed to establish a long-term arrangement for the supply of uranium from Uzbekistan to India as part of their cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector.
The Modi-Mirziyoyev talks covered a wide range of areas, including trade and investment, infrastructure, critical minerals, mining, defence and security, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, information technology, digital public infrastructure including UPI, and education.
The current bilateral trade between India and Uzbekistan is worth more than USD 1 billion. Modi said both sides would work in a structured manner to address issues related to market access, banking, payment systems and connectivity.
"Uzbekistan is at the heart of Central Asia and is at the heart of India's engagement in the region," Modi said, adding that a stronger India-Uzbekistan partnership would be a "powerful force for peace, progress and prosperity in Central Asia".
On defence cooperation, Modi said the two countries would encourage their defence industries to pursue direct linkages, co-development and co-production of military hardware.
He said terrorism, extremism and separatism posed serious challenges to the region, adding that maintaining a policy of zero tolerance towards these threats would remain a shared resolve.
The two sides also agreed to establish a Coordination Council at the level of foreign ministers to provide direction to all aspects of bilateral cooperation. Their existing joint commission will also be elevated from the secretary level to the ministerial level.
India and Uzbekistan will jointly organise a business summit involving business leaders from both countries, Modi said.
The two leaders witnessed the exchange of several agreements covering areas including mining, culture, education, tourism and ayurveda.
A Letter of Intent was also agreed upon for the restoration and conservation of the Buddhist sites of Fayaz Tepa and Kara Tepa in Uzbekistan. The ancient monasteries in southern Uzbekistan are associated with the spread of Buddhism along the Silk Road and its flourishing in Central Asia.
"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 during the bilateral talks.
He also referred to the "productive discussion" he had with Mirziyoyev over dinner on Saturday, saying the two leaders had taken several important decisions.
Mirziyoyev said Uzbekistan was determined to expand cooperation with India across sectors including 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," the Uzbek president said.
Modi arrived in Tashkent on Saturday for a two-day visit aimed at strengthening cooperation with Uzbekistan in areas including trade, investment, defence and clean energy.
(With inputs from PTI)