India and Uzbekistan Elevate Bilateral Ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Set $5 Billion Trade Target by 2030

India and Uzbekistan have officially decided to elevate their bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership following formal talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent. The two nations have set a target of achieving $5 billion in annual bilateral trade by the year 2030.

The current volume of bilateral trade between India and Uzbekistan stands at over $1 billion. To bridge the gap toward the new target, both leaders announced that issues relating to market access, banking, payment systems, and connectivity will be addressed in a structured manner. Furthermore, the two sides agreed to jointly organize a business summit featuring prominent business leaders from both countries.

The discussions spanned multiple sectors, including trade, investment, infrastructure, critical minerals, mining, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, health, information technology, digital public infrastructure—including the Unified Payments Interface (UPI)—and education. As part of cooperation in the civil-nuclear energy sector, the two countries agreed to establish a framework for the long-term supply of uranium from Uzbekistan to India.

Defence and security also formed a core part of the agenda. Prime Minister Modi noted that both nations share a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism, extremism, and separatism. Moving forward, India and Uzbekistan will encourage their respective defence industries to explore direct linkages, co-development, and co-production of military hardware.

To institutionalize and oversee this expanding cooperation, the two sides agreed to establish a Coordination Council at the level of foreign ministers. Additionally, the existing joint commission will be elevated from the level of secretaries to the ministerial level. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stated that specialized roadmaps will be prepared for diverse sectors such as energy, culture, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, jewellery, and agriculture, supported by reciprocal visits of dedicated teams from both nations.

During the visit, several agreements and a Letter of Intent for the restoration and conservation of the Buddhist sites of Fayaz Tepa and Kara Tepa in Uzbekistan were also exchanged.

"The elevation of ties between India and Uzbekistan to a comprehensive strategic partnership opens up valuable cross-border opportunities for businesses in sectors like pharmaceuticals, IT, digital infrastructure, and mining. With a clear bilateral trade target of $5 billion by 2030 and structured frameworks for banking, connectivity, and payment systems, enterprises looking to expand into Central Asia will find an increasingly supportive ecosystem. Entrepreneurs and business leaders should closely monitor the upcoming joint business summits and sector-specific roadmaps to identify early market entry and co-production prospects." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes