Uzbekistan backs India on Iran’s Chabahar port

Besides steps to boost cooperation in areas ranging from security and counter-terrorism to trade, Uzbekistan is also wooing Indian universities to establish campuses there, Arziev said in an interview

Published on: Sep 19, 2019, 04:18:51 IST

New Delhi | By Rezaul H Laskar

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Uzbekistan backs the development of Iran’s Chabahar port by India as the project will help drive trade and connectivity with the entire Central Asian region, Uzbek ambassador Farhod Arziev said on Wednesday.

Uzbekistan also backed India’s membership of the Ashgabat Agreement for a transport corridor to Oman as well as the North-South Corridor to boost connectivity options (HT FILE)

Besides steps to boost cooperation in areas ranging from security and counter-terrorism to trade, Uzbekistan is also wooing Indian universities to establish campuses there, Arziev said in an interview.

Calling for the revival of trade links between India and Central Asia that dated back thousands of years, he said the Chabahar port will “only play a positive role for expanding trade and economic relations”.

“We see great practical value in the Chabahar project and, no doubt, with the full implementation of the Chabahar project, the scope and opportunities for India, Uzbekistan and Central Asia as a whole will be expanded,” he said.

Uzbekistan also backed India’s membership of the Ashgabat Agreement for a transport corridor to Oman as well as the North-South Corridor to boost connectivity options, he added.

Giving an overview of recent developments in Uzbekistan’s efforts to woo Indian firms and entities, Arziev said two Indian universities had set up campuses and departments in his country this year – Amity University in Tashkent and Sharda University in Andijan. “We will be seeing more and more Indian universities entering Uzbekistan.”

Uzbekistan also worked with Indian partners this year to establish an IT Park in Tashkent – the first such Indian project in Central Asia – and a free pharmaceutical zone in Andijan, he said. Several Indian firms had registered at the zone and begun constructing their production facilities.

India and Uzbekistan also have a “good history of working together” for peace and stability in Afghanistan, Arziev said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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