Uranium, AI And GIFT City: What Did PM Modi And Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev Agree On In Tashkent?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held delegation-level talks in Tashkent, with the two countries taking several key decisions to deepen bilateral ties and expand cooperation in economic engagement, strategic partnership, trade, energy, technology and city-to-city collaboration.

Prime Minister Modi said India and Uzbekistan were elevating their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, under which the two sides would move forward with concrete targets. During the meeting, President Mirziyoyev conferred Uzbekistan's highest state honour, the Oliy Darajali Dustlik, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Prime Minister Modi said he had seen President Mirziyoyev's book identifying projects across key sectors to advance economic cooperation between the two countries, along with timelines for the next phase of action. Praising the initiative, PM Modi said he was confident that India and Uzbekistan would make rapid progress on these projects together.

He said the two leaders had held meaningful discussions over dinner the previous night and taken several important decisions. The teams from both countries are also in agreement on these matters. India and Uzbekistan have decided to establish a Coordination Council at the level of foreign ministers to guide all aspects of bilateral cooperation.

The two sides also agreed to upgrade the Joint Commission from the secretary level to the ministerial level. India and Uzbekistan will jointly organise a Business Summit, bringing together business leaders and representatives from both countries.

The summit will aim to provide further momentum to bilateral economic and business cooperation. Prime Minister Modi said the two countries would establish a long-term arrangement for the supply of uranium. India and Uzbekistan are also working on three sister-city and sister-state arrangements.

PM Modi said a roadmap should be prepared to make full use of the potential of these partnerships. PM Modi also referred to Uzbekistan's ongoing mega project, New Tashkent. He highlighted the development of GIFT City in Gujarat and invited an Uzbek delegation to visit Gujarat to study the use of technology and learn from the experience of developing GIFT City.

During the meeting, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev praised India's progress under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. He said India was achieving notable results across sectors, maintaining a high rate of economic growth and implementing major projects.

Mirziyoyev said India was making exceptional progress in digitalisation, information technology, artificial intelligence, space exploration and several other fields. He also said New Delhi's voice and influence in global affairs had grown stronger.

The Uzbek President said that as a close friend of India, Uzbekistan was pleased to see these achievements. Prime Minister Modi also appreciated the dinner and welcome hosted for him by President Mirziyoyev. He said he had the opportunity to watch talented children perform songs and dances during the dinner.

PM Modi said it felt as though President Mirziyoyev had brought India alive in Uzbekistan and that he experienced a sense of his home state Gujarat.