NEW DELHI: India and Uzbekistan on Friday signed a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) to assure appropriate protection to investors of the two countries.

The treaty was signed by Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Uzbekistan’s deputy prime minister Khodjayev Jamshid Abdukhakimovich at Tashkent, the finance ministry said in a statement.

“The BIT between India and Uzbekistan assures appropriate protection to Uzbekistan investors in India and Indian investors in the Republic of Uzbekistan, in light of relevant international precedents and practices,” it said.

It will increase the comfort level and boost the confidence of investors by assuring a minimum standard of treatment and non-discrimination, while providing for an independent forum for dispute settlement through arbitration, it said.

“The BIT also provides for protection to investments from expropriation, provides for transparency, transfers and compensation for losses. However, while providing such investor and investment protection, balance has been maintained with regard to state’s right to regulate and thereby provides adequate policy space,” it added.

The signing of BIT reflects both nations’ shared commitment towards enhancing economic cooperation and creating a more robust and resilient investment environment, it said. BIT is expected to pave the way for increased bilateral investments, benefiting businesses and economies in both countries.

Sitharaman, who is in Uzbekistan, also visited the Shastri School in Tashkent.

“Earlier today she paid floral tribute to the late Prime Minister of India, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri, at his memorial in Tashkent,” a finance ministry official said. In the school, FM interacted with school children and teachers, many of whom could also converse in Hindi.

An Indian business delegation led by FICCI also coincided with the Tashkent visit of Sitharaman. The delegation attended the signing of BIT between India and Uzbekistan.

India is among the top 10 trade partners of Uzbekistan with bilateral trade $756.60 million (as per Uzbek statistics-2023) is well below potential, the Indian embassy in Uzbekistan said in a brief on India-Uzbekistan bilateral relations. The major items of India’s exports are pharmaceutical products, mechanical equipment, vehicle parts, services, frozen buffalo meat, optical instruments and equipment and mobile phones. India’s import from Uzbekistan consists largely of fruit and vegetable products, services, fertilisers, juice products and extracts, and lubricants, it said.

“Total Indian investments in Uzbekistan amount to US$ 61 million. Notable Indian investments by Indian companies include those in the field of pharmaceuticals, amusement parks, automobile components, and hospitality industry,” it said.

Investments in various fields, including pharma and healthcare, textiles and auto components, agriculture and food processing, and mining and jewellery sector are in various stages of discussion, it said.

“Indian company GMR have expressed interest in investment in airports, development of air corridor, Navoi cargo complex in UzbekistanIn October 2019, Amity University and Sharda University have opened campuses in Tashkent and Andijan respectively and Sambhram University in Jizzakh region & Acharya University in Bukhara,” it said. India and Uzbekistan had signed a joint statement in September 2019 to set up a joint feasibility study for entering into negotiations for a preferential trade agreement (PTA), it added.

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