India, Uzbekistan Agree on Uranium Supplies, Elevate Ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

NEW DELHI: India and Uzbekistan on Sunday agreed to establish a long-term arrangement for uranium supplies from Uzbekistan to India as part of their civil nuclear cooperation, while elevating bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The decision was taken during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent, where the two sides also set a target of increasing annual bilateral trade to USD 5 billion by 2030. The two sides also signed 11 agreements covering areas including trade, investment, infrastructure, critical minerals, mining, defence, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, information technology, education and digital public infrastructure. Uranium emerged as a key new area of cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector. During delegation-level talks, Modi said the two countries would establish a long-term arrangement for uranium supplies from Uzbekistan. “We will also establish a long-term arrangement for the supply of uranium,” Modi said and added that India and Uzbekistan should develop a roadmap to fully realise the potential of their expanding partnership. Secretary (West) in the MEA Sibi George later said discussions on uranium supplies had been “positive” and that the two countries were close to signing an agreement very shortly. He said the upgraded strategic partnership would also include a Foreign Minister-level Coordination Group and raise the existing Joint Commission mechanism from the secretary level to the ministerial level.