PM Modi departs for Kyrgyzstan, concluding visit to Uzbekistan

Tashkent, Aug 30 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday departed for Kyrgyzstan after concluding a productive visit to Uzbekistan.

He was seen off by Uzbekistan’s Prime Minister, Abdulla Aripov at the airport.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has departed from Uzbekistan for the Kyrgyz Republic. He was seen off by PM Abdulla Aripov of Uzbekistan at the airport. PM’s visit to Uzbekistan reaffirmed the deep and enduring bonds between our two countries. In Kyrgyz Republic, PM will attend the 26th SCO Leadership Summit and carry forward India’s constructive engagement with the region,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on X.

PM Modi will also attend the Opening Ceremony of the 6th World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan.

Earlier, PM Modi held a “fruitful” meeting with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

“PM Narendra Modi had a fruitful meeting with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent. India-Uzbekistan ties have been elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Both sides agreed to deepen cooperation in AI, DPI, energy, space, healthcare, trade, education, culture, youth exchanges and more,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on X.

As part of his state visit to Uzbekistan, PM Modi held wide-ranging discussions with President Mirziyoyev at the Kuksaroy Presidential Palace covering trade and investment, critical minerals, defence and security, innovation and start-ups, digital public infrastructure and UPI, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, agriculture, education, tourism, space, and people-to-people ties.

PM Modi welcomed the progress made towards a long-term arrangement for the supply of uranium from Uzbekistan to India and underlined the importance of strengthening bilateral cooperation in critical minerals.

The focus on these resources assumes significance as both countries seek to build more resilient supply chains for minerals that are crucial for clean energy, advanced manufacturing and strategic technologies.

The two leaders also set an ambitious target of $5 billion in bilateral trade by 2030 and called for the organisation of a business summit to further expand economic and investment ties.

They agreed to establish a Foreign Ministers-led mechanism to take forward the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and decided to raise the existing Inter-Governmental Commission to the ministerial level.

The talks also highlighted the long-standing civilisational and people-to-people connections between India and Uzbekistan. PM Modi appreciated the growing popularity of Yoga in Uzbekistan and earlier attended a Yoga session organised by the Yoga Federation of Uzbekistan.

Marking the 60th anniversary of the passing of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, PM Modi announced the Lal Bahadur Shastri Scholarship for Hindi language for Uzbek students.

–IANS

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