PM Modi arrives in Tashkent on a two-day visit to boost bilateral ties between India and Uzbekistan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, marks a significant milestone in India's expanding strategic footprint in Central Asia — a region historically linked to India through the ancient Silk Road but long neglected in modern diplomatic calculus. The visit, characterized by a warm airport welcome from President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and a solemn wreath-laying at Yangi Uzbekistan Park — a symbol of Uzbekistan's post-2016 reform era — reflects the deepening personal chemistry and institutional trust between the two leaderships. This engagement is not an isolated event but the culmination of a sustained diplomatic push since 2015, when PM Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister in decades to visit all five Central Asian republics in a single tour, launching the 'Connect Central Asia' policy into high gear. The strategic stakes are immense. Central Asia sits at the crossroads of Eurasia, rich in hydrocarbons, rare earth minerals, and transit corridors. For India, Uzbekistan — the region's most populous nation and a double-landlocked state — is pivotal. It hosts the Chabahar-linked International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) extensions and is a key partner in the India-Central Asia Dialogue (inaugurated 2019) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), where both nations coordinate on counter-terrorism, radicalization, and Afghanistan stability. The 2023 India-Uzbekistan Strategic Partnership Declaration elevated ties to a comprehensive level, covering defence co-production, pharmaceuticals, IT, and renewable energy — sectors where Indian firms like Tata Power and Sun Pharma already operate. Constitutionally, such high-level visits derive mandate from Article 53 (executive power of the Union) and Article 253 (Parliament's power to implement international agreements), while the Ministry of External Affairs operates under the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992, for trade facilitation. The visit also aligns with India's 'Neighbourhood First' and 'Extended Neighbourhood' doctrines, now codified in the 2023 National Security Strategy framework. Economically, bilateral trade — modest at $600 million (2023) — targets $1 billion by 2025, with focus on uranium supply (Uzbekistan is the world's 5th largest producer), critical for India's nuclear energy programme under the 2008 NSG waiver and Civil Nuclear Agreement. Defence cooperation includes joint exercises like 'Dustlik' and potential co-development of armoured vehicles. On connectivity, the trilateral India-Iran-Uzbekistan working group on Chabahar-Zahedan-Mashhad-Sarakhs-Tashkent rail corridor could bypass Pakistan, transforming trade geometry. Regionally, the visit gains urgency amid Taliban-ruled Afghanistan's instability, rising China's Belt and Road dominance, and Russia's preoccupation with Ukraine. India's 'Central Asia Plus' format — institutionalized via the 2022 Delhi Declaration — offers a platform for coordinated responses to terrorism, drug trafficking, and climate resilience. Future implications are profound: a potential India-Uzbekistan FTA, deeper SCO-RATS (Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure) integration, and joint rare earth exploration could redefine India's resource security. For aspirants, this visit exemplifies how personal diplomacy, institutional frameworks, and geoeconomic logic converge — a template for analyzing India's great power aspirations in a multipolar world.