Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Uzbekistan to hold bilateral talks with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, reviewing the Special Privileged Strategic Partnership established between the two countries. Discussions covered trade expansion, defence cooperation, connectivity through the International North-South Transport Corridor, and Central Asia engagement under India's Connect Central Asia policy. Uzbekistan is a key partner in India's outreach to the landlocked Central Asian region, which holds significance for energy, transit access, and countering regional security threats.

India–Uzbekistan relations operate within the broader frame of India's Connect Central Asia policy, launched in 2012, which seeks to deepen political, economic, cultural, and people-to-people ties with the five Central Asian republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The bilateral relationship was upgraded to a Special Privileged Strategic Partnership in 2018 during Modi's earlier visit to Tashkent.

Uzbekistan matters to India for several intersecting reasons. First, it is a landlocked country that India can access only through the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) or via the Chabahar Port in Iran, making connectivity diplomacy critical. Second, Uzbekistan is a major cotton and energy producer, offering trade diversification. Third, defence ties include military training and equipment supply, positioning India as a security partner against extremist spillovers from Afghanistan post-2021.

The SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) is the multilateral backdrop here — both India and Uzbekistan are full members since India joined in 2017. Many India–Central Asia summits now run parallel to SCO meetings. Examiners frequently test India's membership year in SCO, the founding members, and the distinction between observer and full-member status. The INSTC — connecting India via Iran and Russia to Central Asia and Europe — is another static anchor regularly tested.