DUSHANBE, September 1. /Dunyo IA/. Researcher at the Institute of Philosophy, Political Science and Law of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, Victor Kim, commented to Dunyo IA on the results of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi’s state visit to Uzbekistan on August 29–30:

— Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Uzbekistan and his talks with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev go far beyond the framework of a traditional bilateral protocol. Central Asia today is emerging as an independent regional actor shaping its own agenda in the areas of transit and technological partnership.

It is particularly symbolic that the visit took place on the eve of Uzbekistan’s 35^th anniversary of independence. India’s choice of Tashkent as the key and only destination for a full-fledged state visit by the Prime Minister ahead of the SCO summit in Bishkek demonstrates Uzbekistan’s growing regional weight.

The concept of connectivity between Central and South Asia initiated by Uzbekistan in 2021 is a pragmatic plan for the development of continental trade. Uzbekistan is developing East–West routes linking China with the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea region and Europe, as well as the northern direction. In this context, developing ties with India opens up additional opportunities for the southern route.

The strategic partnership with India strengthens Uzbekistan’s role as a regional transit, manufacturing and financial hub. At the same time, the development strategies of the two countries, “Uzbekistan–2030” and “Viksit Bharat 2047”, provide a foundation for cooperation in industrialization, digitalization and investment.

The Prime Minister’s visit to Uzbekistan is a marker of a tectonic shift. Uzbekistan is proving in practice that genuine independence is forged not through isolation, but through the ability to shape the future with its own hands.

In the long term, the outcomes of the high-level Uzbek-Indian summit will contribute to strengthening Central Asia as an independent pole of interests and further diversifying Uzbekistan’s foreign economic ties.