New Delhi, Aug 3 (IANS) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday invited businesses from India and Uzbekistan to co-invest, co-manufacture and co-innovate, while calling for concerted efforts to double bilateral trade between the two countries over the next three years.
Addressing the India-Uzbekistan Business Forum here along with visiting Uzbek Investment, Industry, and Trade Minister Laziz Kudratov, the minister said the strategic partnership between the two countries, founded on mutual trust, respect, and a shared vision for prosperity, offers tremendous opportunities for expanding trade, investment and economic cooperation.
Goyal said India and Uzbekistan have an immense business potential that remains largely untapped. He observed that while bilateral trade has crossed approximately $1.5 billion, it represents only a fraction of what the two economies can achieve together.
The minister said India offers Uzbekistan not only a large and growing market but also a reliable partner, a skilled and youthful workforce, and a platform for innovation-led growth. Referring to the recently concluded Bilateral Investment Treaty between India and Uzbekistan, he said the agreement would enhance investor confidence and encourage businesses from both countries to invest in each other’s economies and build long-term partnerships.
Goyal identified several sectors with strong complementarities that offer significant scope for bilateral collaboration. He said Uzbekistan presents substantial opportunities for Indian investment in the mining sector. He also highlighted the potential for cooperation in textiles, noting Uzbekistan’s strength in cotton production and India’s leadership in the textile industry, with opportunities to jointly expand into garment manufacturing, design, and global markets.
In the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, the minister said India, recognised as the pharmacy of the world, can support Uzbekistan’s healthcare modernisation through affordable medicines, medical devices, diagnostics, telemedicine, training of doctors and paramedics, and quality healthcare services. He also proposed reviving cooperation in traditional systems of medicine such as Ayurveda, Yoga and Unani, which had historical links with the Uzbek region.
On agriculture and food processing, Goyal said cooperation in food processing, packaging, cold chains, and agri-tech could help build global value chains that benefit farmers in both countries while serving international markets through complementary strengths.
The minister also underlined India’s readiness to collaborate with Uzbekistan in information technology and the digital economy. He said India would be happy to work with Uzbekistan in developing Digital Public Infrastructure and strengthening cooperation in areas such as fintech, agri-tech and medtech. He further noted that engineering components, advanced manufacturing, automotive components and automobiles also offer promising avenues for future collaboration.
Emphasising that trade must lead the bilateral relationship, Goyal urged businesses to seize the opportunity to build enduring commercial partnerships. He called for eliminating trade barriers, promoting mutual recognition of standards, approvals, testing and certification processes, integrating customs systems through greater digitalisation, and creating more efficient trade routes to facilitate commerce.
The minister said both governments are working towards a more structured, time-bound and outcome-oriented economic partnership and stressed that regulators and standard-setting authorities should also strengthen cooperation to facilitate businesses on both sides.
–IANS
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