A very good news has emerged for Indian tourists and businessmen. Uzbekistan has made a big announcement to implement 30 days visa-free entry regime for Indian citizens. This historic decision was announced by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Sunday during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Uzbekistan. He expressed confidence that this step will increase the closeness between the citizens of the two countries and will give a new dimension to tourism, trade and cultural exchange. Prime Minister Modi was on a two-day state visit to Uzbekistan from 29 to 30 August. During the high-level delegation talks held in Tashkent, President Mirziyoyev described India as a very reliable and strategic partner of Uzbekistan.
Statistics of trade and flights testify to relationships
According to President Mirziyoyev, bilateral relations between India and Uzbekistan are continuously strengthening with time. Trade between the two countries crossed the $1 billion mark for the first time last year. Not only this, in recent years the number of joint ventures between the two countries has also registered a spectacular increase of almost seven times.
Currently 14 direct flights are being operated every week between India and Uzbekistan. In such a situation, this new facility of 30 days visa-free travel will make traveling to Uzbekistan very easy and cheap for Indian travelers. This is expected to give a big boost to tourism as well as business travel.
Deep roots of cultural and historical bonds
Relations between India and Uzbekistan are not limited to just trade and diplomacy, but the cultural bond between the two countries is also very old and deep. Major institutions like 'Lal Bahadur Shastri Center for Indian Culture' and 'Mahatma Gandhi Center for Indian Studies' based in Tashkent are playing a key role in strengthening the mutual cultural relations between the two countries.
Apart from this, the popularity of yoga is also increasing rapidly in Uzbekistan. A dedicated Yoga Federation has been working there since 2018, and in June this year, a grand yoga festival was organized at the entire country level.
The journey of diplomatic relations started from 1992
India and Uzbekistan formally established diplomatic relations on 18 March 1992. After Uzbekistan became an independent country, India was among the first countries to recognize its sovereignty. Later, in the year 2011, both the countries gave the status of 'Strategic Partnership' to their bilateral relations.
Since then, cooperation between the two countries in diplomatic, economic and social fields has been continuously deepening. Even before this visit of Prime Minister Modi, many important meetings have taken place between the top leaders of the two countries. PM Modi has previously visited Uzbekistan in 2015 and has also participated in the SCO summits held there in 2016 and 2022. At the same time, President Mirziyoyev paid a state visit to India in 2018.
Central Asia's door opened for tourists
This new visa-free regime of Uzbekistan will make the historical routes of Central Asia more attractive for Indian travelers. This will prove to be a great opportunity especially for those people who want to see closely the historical places like Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara, their unique culture and unmatched architecture.
After concluding his Tashkent visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, where he will attend the 26th SCO Summit at the invitation of Kyrgyzstan's President Sadyr Japarov.
This special conference is being organized to commemorate the completion of 25 years of the formation of the SCO organization. Overall, this 30-day visa-free facility given to Indians is being considered a big and effective step towards the strengthening of relations between India and Uzbekistan.