Foreign News
Why Is Modi Going To Tashkent Before Bishkek SCO Summit?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit to Uzbekistan August 28, before he travels to Kyrgyzstan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek on August 31 and September 1.
This will be followed by India’s hosting of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi in September.
Uzbekistan is Central Asia’s most populous country and sees itself as a leading regional power. It has also pursued a multi-vector foreign policy, maintaining relationships with Russia, China, Türkiye, Pakistan and India.
“Uzbekistan is the most populous state of Central Asia. It views itself as a leader of Central Asia,” Professor Rajan Kumar of the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University told StratNewsGlobal. “It pursues a multi-vector foreign policy wherein it seeks to develop strong ties with the powerful neighbours such as China, Russia, Turkey, Pakistan and India,” he said.
For New Delhi, that positioning makes Tashkent an important partner as competition among major powers for influence in Central Asia grows. “Uzbekistan realises the importance of India as a benevolent stabiliser and a source of investment, technology and a potential market in the future,” Kumar said.
The immediate focus of Modi’s visit is expected to include economic ties, connectivity, defence, mining and critical minerals. The preparations gathered pace during Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov’s recent visit to New Delhi, where he met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and called on President Droupadi Murmu.
After meeting Jaishankar, Saidov said the two sides had agreed to prepare for Modi’s visit and expressed confidence that it would give fresh momentum to bilateral cooperation.
The political relationship has developed steadily over the past decade. Modi has visited Uzbekistan three times, in 2015, 2016 and 2022. The bigger question now is whether that political engagement can translate into a larger economic relationship.
Bilateral trade reached $1.3 billion in 2025, with India accounting for the larger share of exports. The two countries are looking to expand trade in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, agriculture, processed foods, engineering goods, automobiles, electronics, textiles and chemicals. Digital services and healthcare are also areas where both sides see potential.
For all that potential, trade remains modest. “The trade between the two countries hovers around merely $1 billion dollar, which can easily multiply with better connectivity and planning,” Kumar said.
Geography is a major constraint. India and Uzbekistan do not share a direct land route, making transportation more difficult and expensive. New Delhi has therefore been seeking better access to Central Asia through Iran, including the Chabahar port and the International North-South Transport Corridor.
Customs facilitation and non-tariff barriers are also part of the effort to make bilateral commerce easier.
Mining is emerging as a newer area of cooperation. During Saidov’s visit to New Delhi, Jaishankar said India wanted to expand the relationship into the sector. “We want to take this cooperation into mining as well,” Jaishankar said.
The interest comes as India seeks supplies of critical minerals required for advanced manufacturing, electronics, clean energy and other strategic sectors. Uzbekistan’s mineral resources give the area added importance in the bilateral relationship.
Kumar also sees scope for Uzbekistan to become a longer-term source of energy and minerals for India. The issue is therefore likely to feature more prominently as the two countries seek to broaden their economic engagement.
Defence remains another established component of the relationship. India and Uzbekistan conduct the annual Dustlik military exercise, which focuses on counter-terrorism operations and helps the two armed forces improve coordination and interoperability.
Afghanistan is another important part of their security discussions. Uzbekistan shares a border with Afghanistan and has a direct interest in developments there, while India remains concerned about terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking emanating from the region.
The two countries have joint working mechanisms on Afghanistan and cooperate on regional security through the SCO.
Kumar pointed to the India-Central Asia Dialogue, the India-Central Asia Summit and joint working groups on Afghanistan as additional mechanisms for engagement.
“As members of the SCO, the two sides cooperate on issues of terrorism, secessionism and radicalism,” he said.
Modi’s Uzbekistan visit will come immediately before the SCO summit in Bishkek. The grouping brings together India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus and the Central Asian republics.
For India, the SCO remains a forum for discussions on terrorism, security, connectivity, energy and economic cooperation with major Eurasian powers.
The timing of the Uzbekistan visit gives New Delhi an opportunity to deepen a key bilateral relationship before those wider multilateral discussions begin.
The relationship also has a growing people-to-people dimension. More than 3,000 Uzbek officials, professionals and students have benefited from Indian training and scholarship programmes, while thousands of Indian students are pursuing higher education in Uzbekistan.
But the central challenge remains turning these existing links into stronger economic outcomes. “There is a strong goodwill in Uzbekistan for India. But somehow that has not been translated into policy outcomes,” Kumar said.
That is the gap the August 28 visit could seek to address.
For Uzbekistan, India offers investment, technology, pharmaceuticals, education and access to a major South Asian economy. For India, Uzbekistan offers a significant Central Asian market, potential access to minerals and energy, and a partner that maintains relationships with all the major powers shaping the region.
The aim now is to make those complementary interests produce more tangible results.