GIFT City invitation, uranium supply arrangement marks Indian PM Modi’s Tashkent visit

Bishkek: India and Uzbekistan have upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, agreeing to a long-term uranium supply arrangement and a new ministerial architecture to drive trade, energy and city-to-city ties.

The decisions followed talks on Sunday between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the Kuksaroy Presidential Palace, 15 years after the two countries first became strategic partners.

“We are celebrating the 15th anniversary of our strategic partnership. I am delighted that, on this special occasion, we are elevating our ties to the level of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” Indian PM Modi said. “We will move forward by setting concrete goals within this framework.”

The energy announcement was the sharpest signal of the new ambition. India has been seeking uranium for civilian nuclear power; Uzbekistan is among the world’s better-endowed producers. “We will also establish a long-term arrangement for the supply of uranium,” Indian PM said.

To keep the upgrade from remaining a slogan, both sides agreed to create a Coordination Council at foreign-minister level “to provide direction to all aspects of our cooperation through close coordination.” The existing Joint Commission will be raised from secretary to ministerial rank. A joint business summit is to bring Indian and Uzbek industry into the same room.

People-to-people links were given a local face. Three sister-city and sister-state pairings were formalised. “Today, we are formalising three sister-city and sister-state arrangements. We should create a roadmap to fully realise their potential,” PM Modi said. He then invited Tashkent to look at India’s flagship urban experiment. “Mega-projects like ‘New Tashkent’ are underway in your country, while in India, we have developed GIFT City in Gujarat. We would be delighted to welcome a delegation from your country to study best practices and the use of technology.”

President Mirziyoyev cast India as more than a trading partner. “India is our reliable strategic partner,” he said. “Last year, our bilateral trade exceeded one billion dollars for the first time. In recent years, the number of joint ventures has increased sevenfold.” He praised India’s pace in digitalisation, artificial intelligence and space, adding that New Delhi’s “voice and influence in global affairs have grown even stronger.”

Both governments have set a $5 billion trade target by 2030, a five-fold jump from the first billion-dollar year. A letter of intent was signed to restore the Buddhist sites of Fayaz Tepa and Kara Tepa. Mr Mirziyoyev also conferred Uzbekistan’s highest honour, the Order of Oliy Darajali Dustlik, on Mr Modi.

The visit is the opening leg of Mr Modi’s Central Asia trip before the SCO summit in Bishkek.