Tashkent, Aug 28 (IANS) India’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Smita Pant, on Friday said that the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Uzbekistan is very important and will set direction for the future.
“It is a very important visit. It is happening after a gap of almost 11 years. It will lay a very strong foundation of further cementing strategic partnership between both sides. The agenda that will be discussed is comprehensive, extremely multifaceted,” Ambassador Pant told IANS.
“Be it trade and investment, connectivity, bottlenecks, critical minerals, rare earth, development cooperation, cultural cooperation, defence and security matters, cooperation under UN and other multilateral fora, cooperation in health, pharmaceuticals. All of these issues will be discussed,” she emphasised.
The Indian diplomat noted that PM Modi last visited Uzbekistan in 2015 and since then there has been 'tremendous development' in many areas, including an increase of 300 per cent in trade and 700 per cent in investment.
“Indian tourists are coming here. Uzbekistan is India's third largest source of medical tourism. Indian students are pursuing medical studies here. The overall visit will cement our already strong strategic partnership. New areas will be identified, like FinTech and artificial intelligence. Space and nuclear energy cooperation will be discussed,” said Ambassador Pant.
She mentioned that discussions will also include agriculture cooperation, challenges related to climate change, and Regional and geopolitical developments.
"Defence and security will be discussed. It will be a comprehensive and multifaceted agenda. It will also set the direction for the future. It is a very important visit," stated Ambassador Pant.
She noted that there are ongoing discussions on enhancing bilateral trade, which currently stands at USD 1.3 billion.
“We can, for example, export more surgical equipment, medical devices, and machinery. We can import more from Uzbekistan in terms of natural resources and other value-added products. There is a tremendous amount of work that is happening in identifying those areas of Cooperation,” the Indian Ambassador highlighted.
She said that the bilateral trade can be increased with improved connectivity.
“We are also working in the area of digital connectivity. And finally, people-to-people connectivity, which we call connectivity of hearts. There is a very strong connection between the people of India and Uzbekistan. There is a lot of love for Indian culture here. So when you go to the market here, you will feel it,” the Ambassador highlighted.
Prime Minister Modi will be on a two-day State Visit to Uzbekistan, starting Saturday.
During the visit, which is taking place at the invitation of Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, PM Modi will hold delegation-level talks with Mirziyoyev to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.
This will be Prime Minister’s fourth visit to Uzbekistan and the two leaders would review cooperation in trade and investment, defence, digital connectivity, energy, education and people-to-people domains and set the agenda for the road ahead.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), they will also share perspectives on advancing the shared developmental visions of Viksit Bharat 2047 and Uzbekistan-2030. Prime Minister is also expected to visit the Shastri Memorial in Tashkent and the Mahatma Gandhi Centre at the Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies.
–IANS
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