The Union Minister of State for Commerce, Shri Jairam Ramesh today said that the time has come for India and Uzbekistan to build on their centuries old cultural and trade relations, and come together for a mutually beneficial economic cooperation in their respective areas of strength, especially Information technology and oil & gas sector. He was addressing the sixth session of the Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation between Indian and Uzbekistan, here. The Uzbek delegation was led by Dr. Alisher Erkinovich Shaykhov, Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Taking note of the commanding position that India has earned in the field of information technology, Shri Jairam Ramesh expressed satisfaction over the progress made in setting up of Indo-Ukbek IT Centre in The Tashkent University of Information Technology (TUIT) with a grant of Rs. 30 million. Shri Ramesh informed Dr. Shaykhov that experts from C-DAC, Pune are scheduled to arrive in Tashkent next month to install equipment and to conduct IT training courses. Eight faculty members from TUIT have already completed advanced IT training from C-DAC. The Uzbek side offered to provide full cooperation for encouraging investment by Indian IT companies in Uzbekistan, and to make Uzbekistan their base for further expansion in CIS countries. Dr. Shaykhov appreciated the active involvement of Indian companies in reconstruction and modernization of Uzbek Railways. To facilitate bilateral trade, Shri Ramesh proposed that Indian businessmen intending to visit Uzbekistan be granted visas on the basis of letters issued by the recognized Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Besides huge potential for cooperation in the oil & gas sector, the two sides also decided to focus on the following areas: textiles (cotton & silk) and garments, pharmaceuticals & hospital equipment, healthcare, food processing, construction and industrial processing of minerals. Indo-Uzbekistan bilateral trade during 2004-05 was Rs. 220.55 crore (including exports from India of Rs. 88.32 crore and imports of Rs. 132.23 crore), against Rs. 69.58 crore in 2003-04, registering an increase of 14.58 % in dollar terms.
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