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India-Uzbekistan pact targets critical minerals, $2.6B trade goal
India wants Uzbekistan's critical minerals for its digital economy. Bilateral trade hit $1.3 billion in 2025, up 33.3%. Both sides agreed to double trade over three years.
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New Delhi wants Uzbekistan's help securing critical minerals for its digital economy. The issue came up during the 14th session of the India-Uzbekistan Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation, co-chaired by commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal and Uzbekistan's deputy minister of investment, industry and trade Shokhrukh Gulamov.
India told the commission its fast-growing digital economy – driven by AI, data centres and advanced computing – needs reliable baseload power. Baseload power is the minimum continuous electricity supply required to keep essential systems running. Ensuring critical minerals supply was flagged as a key area for advancing energy cooperation between the two countries, the government said in a statement.
The trade numbers
Bilateral trade hit $1.3 billion in 2025, up 33.3% from the previous year, according to Uzbekistan's data. Uzbekistan's exports to India stood at $164.6 million, up 25.4%, while its imports from India reached $1.15 billion, a 34.6% jump. India's services exports to Uzbekistan were $372.2 million in 2024.
Both sides agreed to double bilateral trade over the next three years. That implies a target of roughly $2.6 billion by 2028.
Non-tariff barriers and pharma
Agrawal pushed for a regular review of non-tariff barriers – approvals, standards, testing, certification, customs procedures and market-access requirements. He said businesses need predictability, regulators need dialogue and standards bodies need direct contact. A time-bound mechanism for resolving such barriers would help convert goodwill into trade outcomes, he added.