Tashkent: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Tashkent Saturday evening, kicking off his two-day State Visit to the Central Asian nation. In a special gesture, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev received PM Modi at the airport, highlighting the friendship between both countries that has grown immensely over the last 12 years.
During his visit, PM Modi will hold delegation-level talks with President Mirziyoyev, advancing the shared developmental visions of Viksit Bharat 2047 and Uzbekistan-2030.
“In recent years, India-Uzbekistan Strategic Partnership has seen significant advancement. I look forward to my discussions with President Mirziyoyev on further deepening our cooperation in trade and investment, digital connectivity, defence, energy, and on advancing our shared visions of Viksit Bharat and Yangi Uzbekistan,” PM Modi said in his departure statement.
Prime Minister Modi said that he will also visit the Shastri Memorial and the Mahatma Gandhi Centre at the Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, which he called “a tribute to the close cultural and people-to-people ties” that bind India and Uzbekistan together.
People of Uzbekistan have been eagerly looking forward to welcoming PM Modi in Tashkent and hope that his visit will add new momentum to the friendly ties between both countries.
“Welcome Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. We Uzbek people are very happy to hear the news of your arrival. We wish that the friendly ties between the two countries keep on growing…..Jai Hind, Jai Bharat, Jai Uzbekistan,” an Uzbek woman said ahead of PM Modi’s arrival.
This will be PM Modi’s fourth visit to Uzbekistan. He had earlier visited Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries in 2015, followed by visits in 2016 and 2022 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summits.
India and Uzbekistan have maintained extensive and fruitful engagements both in bilateral and multilateral formats over the past many years. The Uzbek President visited India for a State Visit in 2018, and he also participated in the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in 2019.
From Tashkent, PM Modi will travel to Bishkek at the invitation of Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Zhaparov to participate in the 26th SCO Summit, marking 25 years of the organisation.
(IANS)
