India and Uzbekistan upgrade ties, target $5bn trade by 2030
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Tashkent, India and Uzbekistan elevated their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and set a goal of raising bilateral trade to $5bn by 2030. The countries are also nearing a new long-term uranium supply deal.
India and Uzbekistan have elevated their bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Tashkent, setting a target of reaching $5bn (€4.29bn) in trade by 2030.
India's Ministry of External Affairs said the two countries had held "positive discussions" on a new long-term uranium supply agreement, which could be finalised "very shortly". A memorandum on mining and geological resources signed during the visit is meant to support cooperation on critical minerals, including uranium. India already buys uranium from Uzbekistan under a 2019 contract covering 1,100 metric tonnes through 2026, with 600 tonnes delivered as of March 2025. The imported uranium fuels India's civilian nuclear reactors, which operate under IAEA safeguards, as the country aims to expand nuclear capacity to 100 GW by 2047.
Trade and payments
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said bilateral trade grew 33% last year to $1.3bn. The joint statement calls for cutting non-tariff barriers and strengthening manufacturing and supply-chain links, with a new working group to tackle trade and investment obstacles. A feasibility study on a possible preferential trade agreement between the two countries is also underway.
A commercial deal between India's NPCI International Payments and Uzbekistan's National Interbank Processing Centre will let Indian travellers use UPI payment apps in Uzbekistan, with rollout expected within about a year. The sides also agreed to promote multimodal transport routes to cut freight costs to landlocked Uzbekistan.
Defence and diplomacy
A new foreign minister-level mechanism will oversee the expanded partnership, while the existing Intergovernmental Commission is being upgraded to ministerial level. The countries agreed to deepen defence cooperation, including between their defence industries, building on the existing Dustlik joint military exercise, and pledged closer cooperation on counter-terrorism and intelligence-sharing. Uzbekistan reaffirmed support for India's bid for permanent UN Security Council membership.
Tourism ties are also set to grow, with Uzbekistan pointing to its 30-day visa-free regime and 14 weekly flights between the countries, alongside a new tourism cooperation programme for 2026-2028. Four Indian universities operate in Uzbekistan, with about 16,000 Indian students enrolled there. The visit was Modi's fourth to Uzbekistan and marked 15 years of strategic partnership between the two nations; he received Uzbekistan's highest honour for foreign leaders.
