India and Uzbekistan declared a comprehensive partnership

India and Uzbekistan announced the transition to a comprehensive partnership.

India and Uzbekistan have decided to upgrade their bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. This decision marks the 15th anniversary of the strategic partnership between the two countries. The Prime Minister of India announced this in a joint statement with the President of Uzbekistan following talks in Tashkent.

According to the Prime Minister, the two sides have developed an ambitious program aimed at accelerating progress and achieving concrete results within the new partnership format. He noted that this is his fourth visit to Uzbekistan, and he has met with the President more than ten times in nearly ten years of collaboration.

India and Uzbekistan have set a goal of increasing bilateral trade, which has already exceeded $1 billion, to $5 billion by 2030. To achieve this goal, the two sides intend to systematically address issues of market access, transport connectivity, banking, and payment infrastructure. The parties agreed to expand cooperation in infrastructure development, as well as in the areas of digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, clean energy, space, and nuclear energy. Particular attention was paid to agriculture and healthcare: the parties intend to combine Uzbek horticultural expertise with modern Indian agricultural practices to strengthen food security, as well as develop cooperation in traditional medicine based on Uzbek medicinal plants and Indian expertise in Ayurveda. During the visit, a corresponding agreement on traditional medicine was signed.

The Prime Minister announced that the countries intend to establish partnerships between the cities and regions of the two countries to expand direct contacts in urban management, industry, education, tourism, and culture. He also noted close cooperation in defense and security and announced plans to promote direct ties between defense companies, as well as expand joint production and development. According to him, the countries maintain zero tolerance for terrorism, extremism, and separatism, considering them a serious threat to the region. The parties also agreed on a cooperation program aimed at increasing tourism between the countries and on efforts to preserve Buddhist heritage sites in Uzbekistan. India announced the provision of scholarships to promote the study of the Hindi language in Uzbekistan.

Speaking about sports cooperation, the Prime Minister recalled that last year, 20-year-old Uzbek grandmaster Nodirbek Sindorov won the FIDE World Cup in Goa and will meet 20-year-old Indian World Chess Champion D. Gukesh in November. He also wished success to the participants of the Chess Olympiad, which will be held in Samarkand next month, and noted that the traditional sports of kurash and kabaddi will inject new momentum into the sports partnership between the two countries.

Concluding his address, the Indian Prime Minister congratulated the people of Uzbekistan on the upcoming 35th anniversary of their independence on behalf of India's 1.4 billion citizens.