India and Uzbekistan signed key MoUs and agreements and announced a series of initiatives to strengthen cooperation across culture, education, healthcare, mining, tourism, finance, environment and digital payments during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the Central Asian country.
A key outcome of the visit was the decision to elevate the India-Uzbekistan Strategic Partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, reflecting the expanding scope of bilateral cooperation.
Among the agreements signed was a Cultural Exchange Programme for 2026-30, aimed at further strengthening cultural and people-to-people ties between the two countries.
The two sides also signed a Letter of Intent for the conservation and restoration of the ancient Buddhist sites of Fayaz Tepa and Kara Tepa in Termez, Uzbekistan.
Cooperation in heritage preservation was further strengthened through an MoU between India’s National Archives and Uzbekistan’s Uzarchive on archival work.
In the healthcare sector, India and Uzbekistan signed an MoU on cooperation in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine.
The two countries also agreed to expand cooperation in geology and mineral resources through an MoU between India’s Ministry of Mines and Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Mining Industry and Geology.
The tourism sector will be guided by a Partnership Programme for 2026-28, signed between India’s Ministry of Tourism and Uzbekistan’s Tourism Committee.
An MoU was also signed between the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service and the Diplomatic Academy at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy of Uzbekistan to promote cooperation in diplomatic training and capacity building.
India and Uzbekistan agreed to establish an Economic and Financial Dialogue through an MoU between their respective finance ministries.
The two countries also signed an agreement on environmental protection, covering cooperation between India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Uzbekistan’s National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change.
An MoU on higher education and scientific research was signed to deepen academic and research collaboration between the two countries.
At the sub-national level, Gujarat and Uzbekistan’s Samarkand region signed a cooperation agreement to establish partnership relations.
Key announcements
India announced a USD 1 million grant for afforestation in the Aral Sea region, supporting environmental rehabilitation efforts there.
The Indian government also announced the Lal Bahadur Shastri Scholarship for Hindi Language, under which 100 scholarships will be provided to Uzbek students.
Another significant initiative was the establishment of an ICCR Sanskrit Chair at the Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, aimed at strengthening academic and cultural links.
In the digital payments sector, NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) and Uzbekistan’s National Interbank Processing Centre JSC (NIPC) entered into a commercial agreement to enable UPI apps from India to scan Uzbekistan’s national UZQR codes for merchant payments in the country.
The outcomes were announced during PM Modi’s August 29-30 state visit to Uzbekistan, held at the invitation of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The agreements and initiatives are expected to provide fresh momentum to the expanding bilateral partnership.
