BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17
Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Uzbekistan claims a 20 percent share in India’s exports to the Central Asian region, Trend reports via India Briefing.
Its key mineral resources include petroleum, natural gas, coal, and uranium and now it is also looking at upgrading high-value-added food processing and textile industry sectors.
India’s exports to Uzbekistan stood at $260.76 million in 2020.
Major products exported from India to Uzbekistan include pharmaceutical products, machinery, nuclear reactors and boilers, tanning, dyeing extracts, derivatives, pigments, vehicles other than railway, tramway, coffee, tea, mate and spices, electrical, electronic equipment, organic chemicals, etc.
In 2020, India’s export basket to the country was dominated by pharmaceuticals valued at $167.74 million, followed by machinery, nuclear reactors, and boilers whose value stood at $37.19. The surge in pharmaceutical exports can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.
India’s imports from Uzbekistan consists largely of fruit and vegetable products, services, fertilizers, juice products and extracts, and lubricants. It is to be noted that while most Central Asian states export raw materials to India, Uzbekistan’s intermediate goods have also gained importance in India’s import basket.
Uzbekistan also offers lucrative opportunities for investors in the oil and gas industry and telecommunication and information technology industries. The country is seeking strategic partners to develop projects involving high-tech production in the petroleum, chemical, textile, pharmaceutical sectors, and road construction.
In December 2020, New Delhi and Tashkent signed an MoU where the India approved a $448 million Line of Credit for road construction and development of the IT sector for digital connectivity.
In 2019, Uzbekistan also invited India to join its proposed Afghanistan-Uzbekistan rail link project.
On December 14, 2020, the Trilateral Working Group Meeting between India, Iran, and Uzbekistan agreed on the joint use of Chabahar Port. Both the countries have a DTAA with India.
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