India and Uzbekistan have agreed to remove trade hurdles and boost bilateral commerce, with a goal of doubling trade in the next three years. Both sides also discussed expanding exports in sectors like pharma, electronics and agriculture, along with closer cooperation in digital payments and energy security.

India and Uzbekistan have agreed to work towards removing non-tariff barriers and doubling bilateral trade over the next three years, as both countries reviewed their full economic engagement at a recent intergovernmental meeting.India’s Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal co-chaired the 14th Session of the India–Uzbekistan Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation with Uzbekistan’s Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Shokhrukh Gulamov.The Commission reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral economic relations and noted strong growth in trade flows. Uzbekistan said total trade turnover with India reached $1.3 billion in 2025, marking a 33.3% increase over the previous year. During the same period, Uzbekistan’s exports to India stood at $164.6 million, while imports from India rose to $1.15 billion, up 34.6%.Indian exports to Uzbekistan have grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.9% over the past decade. India’s services exports to Uzbekistan stood at $372.2 million in 2024.Both sides identified key sectors with potential for expanding Indian exports to Uzbekistan. Pharmaceuticals emerged as a priority area, along with medical devices, agricultural products, processed foods, agricultural machinery, engineering goods, electrical machinery, electronics, smartphones, automobiles and auto components, tractor accessories, textiles, chemicals, healthcare services, education services, tourism, logistics and other business services.India proposed closer cooperation in customs data exchange and exploring the interlinking of payment systems to enable more secure and efficient cross-border transactions, particularly to support tourism, trade and services. The two sides also discussed cooperation in information and communication technology (ICT) and digital infrastructure.Energy was highlighted as a strategic area of cooperation. India noted that its rapidly growing digital economy—including demand from artificial intelligence, data centres and advanced computing—will require reliable and clean baseload power. In this context, critical minerals supply was identified as an important area for strengthening energy cooperation.India stressed the need for regular review of non-tariff barriers related to approvals, standards, testing, certification, customs procedures and market access, in order to improve predictability for businesses. It also suggested a time-bound mechanism to resolve such issues and translate policy alignment into trade outcomes.The Uzbek side proposed sharing experience on digital logistics platforms and customs facilitation systems.Both sides agreed to hold the 15th session of the Intergovernmental Commission in India on a mutually convenient date.

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