India, Uzbekistan Push State to State Co-operation to Boost Economic Ties

India and Uzbekistan have decided to encourage interregional cooperation between their respective states to improve the overall economic partnership.

When Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade, Mr. Sardor Umurzakov met with Indian ambassador, Mr. Manish Prabhat, they discussed strengthening interregional cooperation, particularly between the Andijan region of Uzbekistan and the Gujarat state of India.

Moreover, opportunities for direct interaction between the Fergana region of Uzbekistan and Haryana, Bukhara and Hyderabad, and Tashkent and New Delhi were considered to implement joint projects and programmes in the investment, trade, and cultural-humanitarian spheres.

Financial-technical cooperation was also touched upon in the meeting. The two sides commended Eximbank of India for allocating US$ 448 million to fund the implementation of essential projects in Uzbekistan in infrastructure development and education and agreed to collaborate on their practical implementation. It was also decided that work on the development for projects in IT, healthcare and education under Indian grants will be accelerated.

On the event, MOUs were signed between the Indian Embassy in Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan regarding the allocation of grant funding for the implementation of the project “Creation and equipping of a new metrological laboratory in the Republican Scientific Specialized Allergy Center”, as well as the project “Equipping secondary schools in the Syrdarya region of Uzbekistan with computer devices”.

The two sides have also agreed to strive towards the Preferential Trade Agreement and the Investment Encouragement and Mutual Protection Agreement. The suggestion to form a joint working group on trade and economic problems was supported by the Uzbek side.