The recent visit by Minister of Commerce, Jairam Ramesh to Uzbekistan reinforces the warm relations shared between India and Uzbekistan. Since Uzbekistan's independence in 1991, there have been significant diplomatic exchanges between the two sides. Uzbek President Islam Karimov visited India in 1991, 1994, 2000 and 2005 while Indian Prime Minister Narasimha Rao visited Uzbekistan in 1993 and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited in 2006. These high level visits resulted in the signing of several documents, which helped to further cement relations between the two countries.

Economic cooperation has been the dominant factor in relations between the two sides. Uzbekistan is the second largest economic partner of India in the region. Energy is certainly an important sector that holds great potential. Uzbekistan with 0.89 billion barrels of oil reserves is important for India's energy needs. Uzbekistan has substantial gas reserves too with 66.2 trillion cubic feet/year (tcf/y) of confirmed gas reserves. India's demand for natural gas has gone up from 2.5 percent in 1980 to 8 percent in 2003, and is expected to rise to 20 percent by 2025. India's domestic reserves are however, not enough to meet this increase in demand. Uzbekistan can therefore be one of the viable options for cooperation in this sector. Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) has identified four specific blocks in Uzbekistan for gas exploration. With such initiatives cooperation in the gas sector has attained significant momentum, which will be beneficial for both countries in the long run. India has agreed to help establish a training institute for gas technology in Tashkent. The cooperation will help India cater to its energy security and Uzbekistan to gain technical know-how in the process.

Some other areas of economic cooperation include cotton, pharmaceuticals, and IT industries. Uzbekistan is the most populous country among the five Central Asian Republics and India will have access to a strong consumer market while Uzbekistan can benefit from Indian technical expertise. In 2005 the Jawaharlal Nehru IT centre was established in Tashkent. CLC Textiles has invested US$81 million in cotton spinning and yarn mills in Uzbekistan and a further investment of US$40million is on the cards. Uzbekistan is also eager for similar investment by Indian companies in the pharmaceuticals and leather industries. The Indian delegation, during the recent visit to Tashkent, urged Uzbekistan to take steps to augment such investment proposals.

Gold exploration is another area where both sides can cooperate. Uzbekistan is the fourth largest producer of gold in the world and the largest among the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries while India is today, the world's largest importer of gold. The Uzbek government has agreed to consider a proposal from the Indian MMTC/National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) for gold exploration, which would also include development of the gems and jewellery sector.

India's trade with Uzbekistan in 2005-06 was US$50.57 million, which accounts for only 0.02 percent of Indian trade. The trade-potential has not been successfully exploited by either country and there remain some obstacles in developing vibrant trade relations between the two countries such as poor transport links and complicated visa regulations. The Indian government's recent proposal to give visas to Indian businessmen engaged in Uzbekistan on the "basis of letters issued by Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry" is a laudable step to facilitate trade between the two sides. The successful establishment of rail linkages in the North-South Corridor can also ease transport difficulties.

Stability in the region is crucial for smooth economic transactions and thus terrorism is also an important area where the two countries have cooperated fruitfully with a Joint Working Group established to combat terrorism. Uzbekistan has for long faced the brunt of radical groups, such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the rise of extremist forces can have a spillover effect on India.

Finally, India and Uzbekistan have shared cultural ties since ancient times. Indian films are very popular in Uzbekistan and cultural groups from both sides perform in each others' countries facilitating an understanding of each other's cultural ethos. There have been student exchange programmes between the two countries. Economic and political cooperation has added a new dimension to the already existing cultural ties.

Today geo-economics is a major determining factor in bilateral relations. India is keen on gaining a strong foothold in the region because of its energy reserves and a huge consumer market. Though at present India-Kazakhstan economic cooperation is India's largest such relationship in the region, Uzbekistan, as a member of both the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), too is crucial to India's long term interests in the region.