New Delhi, Oct 22 (KNN) To strengthen India-Uzbekistan bilateral trade and investment opportunities, FICCI has organised the ‘India-Uzbekistan Business Forum’ webinar.

Manish Prabhat, Ambassador of India to Uzbekistan said that there is a need to take the strategic relations between Indian and Uzbekistan to newer heights that would translate into close cooperation into all areas, including trade, economy, and investments.

Addressing the webinar, Ambassador emphasized “We are working on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and Uzbekistan can also become its member. An air corridor between India and Central Asia is also being worked on. Indian carriers should also target direct flights to Uzbekistan.”

He highlighted the trade and investment opportunities for Indian companies, “Uzbekistan is providing a lot of investment opportunities in various greenfield and brownfield projects. There are tax benefits that Indian industries can avail of and various regions in Uzbekistan provide distinct possibilities for investments. There is a lot of untapped potentials, which both sides need to look into.”

He further stated “the government has set a $1 billion annual bilateral trade target between the two countries. We have reached only one-third of our target so far but there is a lot of potential which still needs to be tapped. The government is working on extending the Line of Credit between India-Uzbekistan along with establishing bilateral investment treaty and preferential trading arrangements.”

The ambassador said that despite the current pandemic, the trade between the two countries was rising continually. The government of Uzbekistan, in July, further simplified its import procedures for the medical equipment and pharma sector.

Dilshod Akhatov, Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan to India said that India occupies a special place in Uzbekistan’s foreign policy. “Economic and trade potential of both countries are not fully utilized, and we need to mutually increase our volume of qualitative trade through improvement in bilateral trade,” he added.

He said that a joint feasibility study for a preferential trade agreement will contribute significantly to further improve trade and business.

“We are looking forward to establishing much stronger relations in sectors like agriculture, energy, pharmaceuticals, textiles, leather, ICT, and tourism. Uzbekistan is highly interested in the implementation of joint projects in the fields of pharma, healthcare, education, and social and infrastructure developments,” he added.

Dr Adarsh Swaika, Joint Secretary, Eurasia Division, Ministry of External Affairs, Govt of India said that economic partnership cannot be seen in isolation but through the prism of our overall bilateral relationship.