India, Uzbekistan Hold Talks On Bilateral Ties, Afgh

India and Uzbekistan on Wednesday held discussions on a range of regional and international issues of mutual interest, including Afghanistan.

These views were exchanged during the 15th round of India-Uzbekistan Foreign Office Consultations (FoC) held in New Delhi.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the two sides agreed to further enhance cooperation in the UN, SCO and other multilateral fora.

During the consultations, the Indian side conveyed its full support for Uzbekistan’s ongoing chairmanship of SCO

Both sides undertook a comprehensive review of the state and prospects of bilateral cooperation including political, security, trade-economic, connectivity, development partnership, humanitarian and cultural spheres.

The talks particularly focused on greater economic cooperation and steps to enhance connectivity between India and Uzbekistan. Both sides agreed to exploit the full potential of Chabahar port for trade between the two countries.

“The two sides exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest, including Afghanistan. They agreed to further enhance cooperation in the UN, SCO and other multilateral fora. The Indian side conveyed its full support for Uzbekistan’s ongoing chairmanship of SCO,” the MEA said in a statement.

Both sides highly assessed the holding of the 1st India-Central Asia Summit in January 2022 and agreed to expeditiously implement its outcomes along with other Central Asian countries.

“The FoC was useful in taking stock of the implementation of decisions taken during high-level meetings held in the last 2 years, including the Virtual Summit in December 2020. Both sides agreed to hold the next round of consultations on a mutually convenient date in Uzbekistan,” the MEA said.

The consultations were co-chaired by Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West) and Furkat Sidikov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The last round of FoC was held in the virtual format in November 2020. (ANI)