Remarks by Ambassador during Annual Press Meet 2026

Hotel Hyatt Regency, Tashkent; February 25, 2026 

My dear media friends and Embassy colleagues,

Good evening – Hayirli kech, Salam Walekum, Namaste!

1. I am pleased to welcome you all to the Annual Press Meet of the Embassy.  It has become one of our important events which provides an opportunity to engage and interact with the vibrant media community in Tashkent. I convey my best wishes to you all on the holy month of Ramadan and thank you all for taking time. I also extend my heartfelt appreciation to each one of you for the cooperation and support you have provided to the Embassy in fostering closer ties between our two countries.  Uzbekistan’s media landscape is dynamic, energetic and continues to expand.
2. I thought, I should speak for a few minutes before we take up Q & A.

3. Exchanges between the Leadership

Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Hon’ble President Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev met in September on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Tianjin, China.  In August 2025, they held a telephone conversation to review progress in key areas of bilateral cooperation. You would notice that the two leaders have met practically every year since 2018 except during the period of Covid. Both leaders met in 2018, 2019, in 2022 (Samarkand), in 2023 (UAE), in 2024 (Kazan) and then again in 2025 (Tianjin). They also held a virtual Summit in 2020. This demonstrates that our relationship has received attention from the highest level.

4. Meetings between Foreign Ministers

Foreign Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Mr. Bakhtiyor Saidov visited India in June 2025 to participate at the 4^th India-Central Asia Dialogue. During the visit, he held bilateral meeting with Dr. S. Jaishankar.  He also called on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Thereafter, Foreign Ministers of both the countries held a telephonic conversation in January 2026. Both Ministers again met on the sidelines of the Critical Minerals Ministerial in February 2026 in Washington DC and held discussions on developments in the region.

5. 150^th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly

A 25-member Indian Parliamentary delegation led by Speaker of Lok Sabha Om Birla participated at the 150^th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) held in Tashkent in April 2025. He also met Hon’ble President Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Senate Chairperson Ms. Tanzila Narbayeva and Legislative Chamber Speaker Mr. Nuriddin Ismoilov.

6. Defence and Security Cooperation

Both sides held 5^th Joint Working Group meeting on Defence in India in April 2025 and next meeting (6^th) is likely to be held shortly.

Sixth edition of the flagship military exercise ‘Dustlik’ was held in April 2025 in India. Both sides also held meeting on Counter Terrorism in Tashkent in September last year where both sides discussed cooperation in countering terrorism and radicalization.

India and Uzbekistan are syncretic cultures with strong civilizational connection and are bulwark against terror and radicalization.

7. Culture and Films

We appreciate Uzbek architecture, music, Lazgi dance form and cuisine.  Similoarly, there is appreciation for Indian art and dance in Uzbekistan. As you are aware, Embassy along with Cinematography Agency of Uzbekistan organized the first edition of women-centric Film Festival in Tashkent in March 2025. Our cooperation in culture and cinema has led to strong people-to-people links. I am therefore pleased to inform that the second edition of our women-centric film festival is being organized from March 12-15, 2026 in Tashkent.  There will be screening of five films. All of you with families and friends are invited for the film screenings. We will have illustrious film personalities like Umesh Mehra attend the event.

Last year, Uzbek film “In Pursuit of Spring” (Bahorni Quvib), directed by Mr. Ayub Shahobiddinov, was screened at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) held in Goa from November 20-28, 2025.  Earlier, Rano Shodiyeva had won best actress award in India.

The 11^th International Day of Yoga was celebrated in Tashkent in June 2025 in association with the Yoga Federation of Uzbekistan. Hon’ble Sports Minister of Uzbekistan, Mr. Adkham Ikramov joined the event along with 2000 yoga enthusiasts to practice Yoga.

We along with Yoga Federation of Uzbekistan also held the 7^th International Conference on Yoga and first ever in Central Asia in Tashkent in September 2025, bringing together eminent Yoga experts from ten Eurasian countries including India, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Armenia, Mongolia and Russia.  The earlier ones were held in New York, London, Seoul, Meinberg, Durban and New Delhi.

In the year 2025, Embassy facilitated two visits of media colleagues from Uzbekistan to India. A seven-member delegation of journalists and social media influencers from Uzbekistan visited Goa from March 19-26, 2025.

This was followed by a familiarization visit of 21 journalists from Central Asian countries to India in December 9-18, 2025 in which three journalists from Uzbekistan participated.

8. Trade & Economic Cooperation

India ranks among Uzbekistan’s top‑10 trading partners (9th rank), and bilateral trade has surged from roughly $500 million to about $1.3 billion in five years, after crossing the $1 billion mark earlier in the year.  Even with this three‑fold increase, the volume remains well below the untapped potential.  There are opportunities in pharmaceuticals, machinery, agriculture, metal, health, textiles, etc.  Connectivity has remained a hindrance. In September 2025, Iran, India and Uzbekistan held trilateral political consultations in Tehran, focusing on enhancing connectivity and the International North-South Transport Corridor.

Indian investment in Uzbekistan in 2025 has increased by 135% to reach USD 332 million.  The total investment has crossed USD 717 million.  I think we will cross the USD 1 billion mark.  Number of Indian enterprises with Indian capital have also increased to 375 as on January 1, 2026.

Last year, more than 200 Indian business delegates visited Uzbekistan and participated at Trade fairs in Uzbekistan including Textile Expo Autumn (CAITME 2025), UzFood, Agro-world, Mining Metals, Textile Expo Spring, PPP forum, Tashkent International Investment Forum, Beauty Uzbekistan/BeautyDerma, OGU, TransLogistics. Similarly, more than 100 Uzbek delegates visited India and participated at various trade fairs like UPITS, IndusFood, Plexconnect, Surajkund International Craft Mela, India-Central Asia Business Forum, 2^nd WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine e.tc. We also had standalone visits from Ministry of Coal, Federation of Indian Export Organizations, National Thermal Power Corporation and Chamber of Confederation of Indian Industry.

India-Central Asia Business Forum (ICABF) was held on June 5, 2025 in New Delhi jointly organized by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry and the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, on the sidelines of the India–Central Asia Dialogue. 09 Uzbek companies participated in the forum. The forum was addressed by External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar along with the Foreign Ministers of Central Asian nations.  On the sidelines of the ICABF, Uzbek business groups signed contracts worth USD 13 million with the Indian companies in the sectors including medical goods, medical equipment and textiles.

A meeting between Uz VC (National Venture Capital Fund) and Startup India was organized in December 2025 to discuss possibilities of investment and collaboration for mutual benefit.  Both sides agreed to prepare a joint roadmap on cooperation in startups identifying priority sectors of cooperation including capacity building programmes.

9. Development Cooperation

Our development cooperation continues to grow. I along with Ms. Ilmira Razikova, Director of the Allergological Centre inaugurated new reference lab at the Republican Scientific Specialized Allergological Centre in Tashkent. Medical camps were also organized in various cities of Uzbekistan.  Our doctors have continued to hold medical camps and have conducted more than 200 OPDs on oncology, hepatology, nephrology, orthopaedic, thoracic surgery, liver transplants at National Medical Centre in Tashkent.

A virtual meeting was held in January this year regarding cooperation in traditional medicine and ayurveda sector between India and Uzbekistan. I see immense potential here.

10. Digital Partnership

The 3^rd Meeting of the India–Uzbekistan Joint Working Group on Digital Technologies was held in November 2025, where both sides discussed strengthening cooperation in information technology and advancing digital solutions in education, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. The two countries will also co-host the inaugural meeting of the India–Central Asia Digital Partnership Forum.

India also organized AI Impact Summit in February 2026 in New Delhi. We were pleased to have a 10-member delegation headed by Mr. Bobur Batyrovich Khodjaev, Head of the Department for Financial Technologies, Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan participate in the Summit.

11. Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC)

In last five years, 1144 candidates have participated in the ITEC programme. Over 40% of selected participants in the past two years have been women, undertaking training across diverse fields such as artificial intelligence, information technology, data science, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals among others.

12. Consular and visa and the Indian Diaspora in Uzbekistan

In 2025, Uzbekistan welcomed the largest number of students from India, with over 16,000 students pursuing higher education. We are working closely with institutions on both sides to standardize education and enhance the overall learning experience so that Indian students get good clinical exposure. I am also glad to share that close to one lakh Indian tourists visited the country in 2025. At present, a total of 17 weekly flights operate from Tashkent to Delhi, Mumbai, and Goa, by Indigo, Uzairways and Centrum Air significantly enhancing connectivity between the two countries. Direct flights to Hyderabad and between Namangan – Delhi Sector are also expected to commence from April 2026The first-ever India–Uzbekistan Consular Dialogue was held in Tashkent in July 2025, during which both sides held comprehensive discussions on visa facilitation, consular cooperation, and security-related matters, with particular emphasis on the welfare of students, medical travellers, and tourists.

I feel that our partnership is much deeper than is known or acknowledged.  There are strong cultural and spiritual affinities. We have connections going back to centuries be it Buddhism, Sufism and as also evident by common words and culinary delights Samosa-Somsa, Naan-Non, Pulao-Palov. I would like to conclude my remarks by quoting famous lines of Gafur Gulom:

Aziz asrimizning aziz onlari, Aziz odamlardan so’raydi qadrin. Fursat g’animatdir, shoh satrlar-la Bezamoq chog’idir umr daftarin.

Thank you very much for your time and patience. Qata Rahmat.

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