India and Uzbekistan have taken a significant step to deepen their defence and security relationship by elevating bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The decision was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Uzbekistan on August 29-30, where he held talks with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
The new framework places greater emphasis on strengthening cooperation between the two countries’ defence and security agencies through regular exchanges, institutional mechanisms, capacity building and joint activities. Both sides also agreed to promote stronger linkages between their defence industries, including opportunities for co-production and co-development of defence equipment.
Military cooperation remains an important part of the relationship. India and Uzbekistan welcomed the continued success of the DUSTLIK joint military exercise, with its seventh edition conducted in April 2026 in Uzbekistan’s Namangan region. The exercise focused on tactical operations, land navigation, joint missions and operations in semi-mountainous terrain, helping improve interoperability between the two forces.
The two countries have also strengthened institutional defence engagement through the Joint Working Group on Defence, established in 2019. Its sixth meeting was held in Uzbekistan in August 2026, highlighting the growing regularity of strategic and military dialogue.
Counter-terrorism cooperation was another major focus. India and Uzbekistan reiterated their commitment to combating terrorism, extremism and separatism and backed stronger cooperation against terrorist financing, organised crime, cyber threats and illicit trafficking. Both sides stressed the need for concerted action against terrorist networks and their support infrastructure.
The upgraded partnership extends beyond defence to include connectivity, digital technology, artificial intelligence, space, cybersecurity, critical minerals and energy. The two nations have also set an ambitious target of increasing bilateral trade to $5 billion by 2030.
The latest developments underline India’s growing strategic engagement with Central Asia and signal a broader effort to build stronger defence-industrial and security cooperation with Uzbekistan.