On July 14 this year, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan S. Umurzakov met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to the Republic of Uzbekistan Santosh Jha, who completed the diplomatic mission, where they discussed investment, trade, economic, financial, technical, cultural and humanitarian cooperation between the two countries.­

The participants emphasized positive dynamics in the investment partnership. By the end of 2019, direct Indian investments in the economy of Uzbekistan increased by 17% due to a significant increase in the number of Indian enterprises operating in our country.­ There is certain progress in commerce. By the end of 2019, the commodity turnover increased by 24.1%. At the same time, the participants agreed to combine efforts to fully utilize the existing potential of the economies of the two countries. They also agreed to intensify negotiations on the draft Agreement on Preferential Trade and the Agreement on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments between Uzbekistan and India.

The parties agreed to continue the joint development of new investment and export agreements in information technology, pharmaceuticals, textile production, agriculture, the production of construction materials, as well as to hold the first meeting of the Uzbek-Indian Committee for the coordination and promotion of practical implementation of bilateral projects in the near future, which is expected to be an important step in the sustainable development of bilateral relations.

They discussed possible extension of financial and technical cooperation between the two countries by increasing the credit line of the Eximbank of India to finance socially significant projects in Uzbekistan.

The participants emphasized the success of the partnership in the humanitarian area: in October 2019, Andijan region hosted the opening of the branch of Sharda University, which provides the training of specialists in electronic and communication engineering, business administration and commerce. In February this year, Tashkent opened the branch of Amity University, which will train specialists in information and communication technologies, artificial intelligence and management. Here, they discussed prospects to establish cooperation with the Pharmaceutical Scientific and Research University of Delhi and the opening of its branch under the Tashkent Pharmaceutical Institute.

After negotiations, Santosh Jha was thanked on behalf of the Government of Uzbekistan for the invaluable contribution to the development of Uzbek-Indian relations. He received wished to have successful work in the new position of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to the Kingdom of Belgium along with accreditation as the Ambassador to the EU.