Why Uzbekistan is a Valuable Partner for India

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Prime Minister Modi.

(Photo: PTI)

Today, the Republic of Uzbekistan is celebrating its 33rd anniversary as an independent and sovereign state. For a country only 33 years old, and doubly landlocked, its developmental trajectory has been impressive.

Located in the heart of Central Asia, Uzbekistan is the region's most populous country with 35.3 million people, and the most powerful in military terms. It is also the country that has been forging the most strategically autonomous path in the region, not belonging to any military bloc or economic union, but maintaining strong and steady relations with Russia, China, the US, the European Union, Turkey, Iran, and of course, India.

Uzbekistan has been undertaking a slew of large-scale reforms based on the New Uzbekistan policy of its dynamic leader, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. These reforms are meant to spur investments and trade, tourism, invigorate the education system, encourage entrepreneurship and innovation, develop civil society, promote transparency and the rule of law, foster local governance, gender equality, secularism, respect for human rights, and ensure the slow but sure democratisation of Uzbek polity and society.

The Uzbek economy is one of the second fastest-growing ones within the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). The country's 2022 GDP was $80.39 billion, according to official data from the World Bank.

Uzbekistan boasts a 97 percent literacy rate. Over the past six years, the number of universities in the country has increased from 77 to 210, enrolment has increased by five times, the number of students has increased by one million, and enrolment in higher education has increased from nine percent to 38 percent. The number of government grants has also doubled to 40,000, of which grants for master's degrees have increased by five times. Many Indian universities like Sharda University and Amity University have opened campuses in Uzbekistan.

Along with all of this, Uzbekistan has maintained itself as a tolerant, pluralistic society, maintaining a strong balance between secularism and religious freedom.

These changes have also been reflected in Uzbekistan’s external relations and international profile. For instance, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has unveiled a new partnership strategy for Uzbekistan to support its transition to a green economy.

Uzbekistan has settled border disputes with all its neighbours and settled insurgencies with a judicious mix of the carrot and the stick. On 4 June, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution initiated by Uzbekistan on the readiness of the Central Asian countries to act as a united front and cooperate to resolve and eliminate drug-related problems.

A little earlier, Uzbekistan was elected to the ILO Administrative Council as a deputy member for the first time in its history. It also became an elected member of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for the period 2025-2027.

Today, when the world is in flux, Uzbekistan stands out with its dynamism and the collective desire of its people to improve the state of the nation. This is why, perhaps, when many powerful countries are beginning to fall behind, Uzbekistan is forging ahead.

This should be exciting for India too. Both countries will be celebrating the 33rd anniversary of diplomatic ties this year. The goodwill for India in Uzbekistan is prominent, thanks in part to the shared history and culture, and in part to the legacy of the strong Indo-Soviet friendship. India should invest in and build on this.

India has identified Central Asia as strategically important and Uzbekistan is one of the most important states in the region. Our cooperation with the country is multi-faceted, from information technology to military cooperation, including of course, cultural to academic ties.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his first tenure, imparted greater dynamism into India's engagement with the region, undertaking bilateral visits to all the countries. In particular, he seemed to share a good personal chemistry with Mirziyoyev.

The Uzbeks have repeatedly expressed their desire to learn from India in different fields. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Voice of the Global South summit found an eager taker in Uzbekistan.

Over the past few years, however, Central Asia seems to have taken a backseat in India’s external engagements. This needs to be rectified. Of course, cooperation continues because of the solid foundation and strong people-to-people ties. But greater energy and dedication are required.

India and Uzbekistan share the same position on international crimes, drug trafficking, human trafficking, religious extremism, and terrorism. Both countries have fought long sustained battles against religious insurgencies on their territories and triumphed. Both value democratic and pluralistic societies.

In this context, the visit by Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande to Uzbekistan in April this year and the gift of an IT Laboratory to the Uzbek Academy of Armed Forces was very timely to reinvigorate bilateral ties.

Simultaneously, bilateral trade is far below its potential standing, currently at an estimated $700 million. This is in large part due to connectivity issues as Uzbekistan is a landlocked country and the political leadership has doubled down on overcoming this geographical tyranny by actively pursuing and participating in connectivity projects, thereby consistently improving the environment for trade and investment.

While Uzbekistan has signed on to the Chabahar Port project, it will still take time to reap benefits. On the other hand, the chaos in the Af-Pak region is a hindrance to overland trade.

One way this can be rectified is by taking Indian manufacturing to Uzbekistan, making it a manufacturing hub for Indian products, and then marketing them to other countries in the region.

There are a number of Indian companies already manufacturing in Uzbekistan, especially pharmaceutical ones. But there needs to be more of this with an arrangement that would be beneficial to both countries, helping increase India's footprint in this strategically important region.

Uzbekistan is also important for stabilising Afghanistan and for combatting hate-filled ideologies like that of the IS-KP (Islamic State – Khorasan Province), which has again reared its ugly head in the region. With its insistence on keeping the country pluralistic and secular, while also allowing freedom of religion to its people, Uzbekistan offers vital lessons for neighbouring countries, particularly Afghanistan. At the same time, it has considerable experience and success in battling terrorism and secessionism.

All of this makes Uzbekistan a valuable partner for India. This is why the latter should remain invested in that country’s development and well-being. For in a tired, fractured world, Uzbekistan remains a beacon of light.

(Aditi Bhaduri is a journalist and political analyst. She tweets @aditijan. This is an opinion piece. The views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)