PM Modi to hold talks with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Uzbekistan on Saturday for a two-day bilateral visit at President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s invitation. The two leaders are expected to discuss trade, investment, defence, technology, energy, education and other areas of bilateral cooperation.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Tashkent on Saturday for a two-day bilateral visit at the invitation of Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

This will be Prime Minister Modi’s fourth visit to Uzbekistan and he is scheduled to hold delegation-level talks with President Mirziyoyev to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.

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According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the two leaders would review cooperation in trade and investment, defence, digital connectivity, energy, education and people-to-people domains and set the agenda for the road ahead. They will also share perspectives on advancing the shared developmental visions of ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’ and ‘Uzbekistan-2030′.

PM Modi is also expected to visit the Shastri Memorial in Tashkent and the Mahatma Gandhi Centre at the Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies.

This will be PM Modi’s fourth visit to Uzbekistan, said Sibi George, Secretary (West) at MEA. He had earlier visited Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries in 2015, followed by visits in 2016 and 2022 to attend the SCO Summits.

India and Uzbekistan have maintained extensive and fruitful engagements in both bilateral and multilateral formats over the past many years. The Uzbek President visited India for a State Visit in 2018 and also participated in the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in 2019.

PM Modi and Mirziyoyev met on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai in 2023 and also in 2024, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan.

The leaders last met in 2025 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China.

Discussions are expected to cover a wide range of areas of mutual interest and identify new avenues for strengthening bilateral cooperation, including trade and investment, critical minerals, healthcare, business-to-business engagement, education, space, technology, culture and people-to-people exchanges.

“This engagement will provide an opportunity to highlight the long-standing cultural ties between India and Uzbekistan, as well as the important role of academic and people-to-people exchange in further strengthening the bilateral relationship,” Secretary George noted during a special media briefing on the visit of PM Modi to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan on Thursday.

At the Tashkent State University, Prime Minister Modi will also interact with Indologists and scholars.

“The Prime Minister’s visit will reaffirm the close, multi-faceted and growing strategic partnership between India and Uzbekistan,” stated Secretary George.

Following the State Visit to Uzbekistan, Prime Minister Modi will travel to Bishkek on August 31 to participate in the 26th SCO Summit. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the SCO and this year’s theme is ’25 Years of the SCO: Together Towards Sustainable Peace, Development, and Prosperity’.

In May, SCO Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev, a former Defence Minister of Kazakhstan, visited India and also the Nalanda University.

The programme elements for the upcoming SCO leadership summit in Bishkek include a welcome dinner on August 31 and the summit plenary the next day, where Prime Minister Modi will deliver his remarks. A number of bilateral engagements are also being planned on the sidelines in Bishkek.