Samarkand: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Friday on the sidelines of the SCO Summit and the two leaders touched upon priority areas like trade, economic cooperation and connectivity.
Regional issues, including Afghanistan were also discussed during the bilateral meeting.
The leaders were unanimous in their view that the territory of Afghanistan should not be used for terrorist activities, the MEA said.
The two leaders stressed on the need to make concerted efforts to diversify the trade basket and enter into long-term arrangements to promote trade and investment, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
Connectivity was considered key to unlock the potential in this regard, including greater usage of the Chabahar port and the International North South Transport Corridor, the MEA added.
The leaders appreciated the overall progress in bilateral relations, including the implementation of decisions of the Virtual Summit in December 2020.
The leaders emphasized cooperation in fields like Information Technology, healthcare, higher education etc., based upon India’s developmental experience and expertise.
Opening of Indian educational institutions and partnership between Uzbek and Indian universities was welcomed.
The leaders attached great importance to the outcomes of the First India-Central Asia Summit held in January this year.
The MEA said that the two leaders acknowledged the progress being made in the implementation of the Summit decisions.
This is a special year for the two countries as it marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
The Prime Minister congratulated President Mirziyoyev for excellent organization of the SCO Summit and Uzbekistan’s successful chairmanship.
UNI
