| India–Uzbekistan relations | |
| Party1: | India |
| Party2: | Uzbekistan |
| Map: | India–Uzbekistan Locator.svg |
India–Uzbekistan relations are the international relations that exist between the Republic of India and the Republic of Uzbekistan. India has an embassy in Tashkent; Uzbekistan has an embassy in New Delhi.
The 2 nations have has many historical ties, both of them being on the Silk Road. Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire which ruled India from 1526–1857, was born in Andijan in present-day Uzbekistan.
India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited Tashkent and Samarkand during his state visit to the Soviet Union in 7–23 June 1955. He visited Tashkent again during his state visit in 6–12 September 1961.[1] [2] Tashkent was the location of a historic meeting in January 1966 between Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistani President Muhammad Ayub Khan. The Soviet Union, represented by Premier Alexei Kosygin served as moderators. The Tashkent conference, under United Nations, American and Soviet pressure, compelled India to give away the conquered region in Pakistan and the 1949 ceasefire line in Kashmir bringing an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Prime Minister Shastri died in Tashkent, at 2 AM on the day after signing the Tashkent Declaration, reportedly due to a heart attack, but people allege conspiracy behind the death. He was the first Prime Minister of India to die overseas.[3]
Uzbekistan declared its independence on 1 September 1991. The Consulate General of India in Tashkent was opened on 7 April 1987. It was upgraded to an Embassy on 18 March 1992.
Timeline of State Visits:
Bilateral trade between India and Uzbekistan stood at US$235 million in 2017-18.[5] Indian pharmaceutical companies are active in many central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan. The government of Uzbekistan has been courting Indian investors in the fields of IT, pharmaceutical technology, agriculture and electronics. [8]
Pilaf, samosa and naan are extremely popular in both nations. In recent years a few Indian restaurants have opened up in the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent. [9]
Sharda University, a private university based in north India, opened an international campus in Andijan in 2019. Sharda University Uzbekistan currently offers courses in humanities, management and computer engineering.[10] More than 12000 Indian students are studying at medical colleges in Samarkand, Bukhara, Andijan and Tashkent. Due to tensions in Ukraine, Russia and Kyrgyzstan, many Indian students from those countries have shifted to Uzbekistan.[11]