India, Uzbekistan sign 17 agreements for cooperation in various sectors

India and Uzbekistan inked 17 agreements on Monday, including in the areas of defence, space, health and agriculture.

After holding delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev termed the signing of agreements "historic".

The two countries signed pacts for collaboration in the field of military education and for cooperation between the Office of the Security Council under the President of Uzbekistan and the National Security Council Secretariat of India.

They also signed an agreement on cooperation in combating illicit drug trafficking. A pact for cooperation in outer space exploration for peaceful purposes was also signed.

Agreements were signed for visa-free travel of diplomatic passport holders for programme of cooperation between the ministries of foreign affairs of Uzbekistan and India in 2019-2020.

Two agreements in the sectors of innovation, and health and medical science were also signed.

Business relationships between the two countries will be promoted through the India-Uzbekistan Business Council, for which a pact was inked.

The two countries also entered into a pact on cooperation in the pharma sector.

An MoU was inked between Khokimiat of Samarkand City and the Municipal Corporation of Agra. Another pact was signed between the Khokimiyat of Andijan Region and the Gujarat government.

"The sides welcomed the establishment of partnership relations between the Andijan region and the state of Gujarat, as well as cities of Samarkand and Agra," read a joint statement released after the talks.