ANKARA, September 1. /Dunyo IA/. Chairman of the Ankara Center for Crisis and Policy Studies (ANKASAM), Professor Mehmet Seyfettin Erol, commented to Dunyo IA on the results of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Uzbekistan on August 29–30:

— Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Tashkent came at a time when relations between India and Uzbekistan had already moved well beyond traditional political dialogue. –

Today, the two countries have accumulated enough common interests to speak not only about mutual understanding, but also about a concrete economic agenda – from pharmaceuticals and healthcare to energy, the chemical industry, geology, agriculture and mechanical engineering.

What is particularly noteworthy is that this is systemic cooperation. For India, Uzbekistan is an important and reliable partner in Central Asia, while for Tashkent, India is a major power with which it can develop relations without having to consider anyone else’s preferences.

This, perhaps, is one of the strengths of Uzbekistan’s current diplomacy. Tashkent does not pit its partners against one another, but consistently expands the circle of countries with which it is ready to engage seriously. India occupies its place alongside China, Türkiye, the Gulf countries, Europe and other partners of Uzbekistan.

For Ankara, this approach is quite understandable. Türkiye knows well how close its relations with Uzbekistan have become, and therefore the emergence of another major economic and political partner in Tashkent is not perceived as a game in which one must necessarily give way to another. Rather, it makes Uzbekistan itself a more interesting partner, as an increasingly dense network of business and political ties is gradually taking shape around the country.

Another point seems important to me: India is coming to Uzbekistan not in place of anyone. It is coming with its own interests and its own proposals, while Tashkent gains the opportunity to compare them with what other partners have to offer.

That is why the rapprochement between Uzbekistan and India is also interesting to observe from Türkiye. A strong Tashkent, with a broad circle of reliable partners, benefits everyone who genuinely counts on long-term relations with Uzbekistan.