Mister Ambassador, not long ago, on January 26, 2007, the people of India celebrated the 58th anniversary of India being proclaimed as a Republic. The date was also widely marked in Uzbekistan. We are glad to note that bilateral relations between your country and Uzbekistan are friendly and have deep historical roots.

In response to requests from our readers, the editorial board of the “Business Connections”, a quarterly publication of the American Chamber of Commerce in Uzbekistan, kindly asks Your Excellency to answer some questions of interest to our readers..

Question 1:  As everybody knows, India occupies the second place in the world measured by the economic growth rate and the fourth place by the purchasing power parity. Could you briefly tell us about the stages of formation of India as a politically stable country, with its dynamically growing economy and live democracy?

Answer (Q.1.):  After Independence in 1947, India adopted the democratic political system with Prime Ministerial form of Government. Due to  people's commitment  to the Constitution of India, values of tolerance, accommodation to diverse views and democracy inbuilt in the  Indian society, our country has   grown as a political stable country since independence with strong democracy  and is the largest democracy in the world today.

The economic policy formulated by the first Prime Minister of India, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was called Mixed economy, with state control of various important and strategic sectors. We adopted the policy of liberalization and Economic reforms in 1991, when our present Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was the Finance Minister. The reform measures and the economic liberalization led to the rapid growth of Indian Economy. As a result today, India is the second fastest growing economy of the world and 4th in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) with GDP of US $ 3.6 trillion. However, India is yet to go a long way in the further development of the nation through its vibrant economy by attracting more foreign investment, creating more job opportunities and equally distributing the fruits of   economic development to all the sections of the society.

Question 2:  The achievements of India in the area of information technologies are known all over the world. In this respect, what are goals and objectives of the Indian-Uzbek Centre of Information Technologies established in Tashkent in April 2006?

Answer (Q. 2.):  India has emerged as the world leader in the Information Technology. In view of the increasing demand from the Uzbek nationals for IT training in India, Indian government has established the Jawaharlal Nehru  India-Uzbekistan Centre for Information  Technology (JNIUCIT) at Tashkent,  which was inaugurated  in April, 2006 during the visit of Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh. The main goals and objective of JNIUCIT are to create an institution of Software Learning and Development, to facilitate IT knowledge and awareness among Uzbek professional/students, to generate direct and indirect employment through IT and to generate world class IT programmers. School teachers, programmers and IT professionals will the target beneficiaries of the JNIUCIT.
 
Question 3:  More than two years have passed since the day of presentation of your Credentials. Within the interval, the state visits of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to India (April 2005) and of the Prime Minister of India to Uzbekistan (April 2006) have taken place. In the course of the visits a number of documents have been signed in the fields of economy, trade, education, mining, oil and gas sector and agriculture. They were targeted to boost mutual relations between the two countries. Tell us, please, how these agreements are being implemented and what is the current state of friendly relations between India and Uzbekistan.

Answer (Q.3.):  Five documents were signed during the visit of H.E. President Islam Karimov to India in April, 2005 in the areas of Defence cooperation, education, sports, small and private entrepreneurship, and eight documents were signed during the visit of Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh to Uzbekistan in April, 2006, in various areas of cooperation, including, oil and gas, entrepreneurship development, geology and mineral resources, education, agriculture etc.

All the above agreements are being implemented with utmost keenness from both sides. Defence cooperation has strengthened in the last two yeas.   India is in the process of establishing Uzbekistan- India Entrepreneurship development Centre at Tashkent. Cooperation between Educational institutions- Delhi University and Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies is being pursued and some fruitful mutual projects are expected to be undertaken in near future.

Indian company dealing in the field of gas, Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) is in touch with “Uzbekneftegaz” for exploration of gas blocks in Uzbekistan.  Both the partners are making progress to develop a mutually beneficial long term relationship. 
 
Economic   and commercial ties with Uzbekistan have also strengthened after the high level visits. Indian Minister of State for Commerce Mr. Jairam Ramesh had visited Uzbekistan in April, 2007 to lead an Indian delegation to the 7th Session of the Indo- Uzbek Inter-governmental Commission. We are taking follow up actions on the issues discussed during the session.

There is a good possibility of enhancing trade and investment in pharmaceutical, non-ferrous metals, textiles, leather and light industry sectors.  A major development was investment of US$ 81 million by the Indian company “Spentex” in the textile sector here.

Currently, our relations with Uzbekistan are very friendly, co-operative and strong. The friendly relations between India and Uzbekistan are grounded in the commitment towards global peace and regional stability. Both countries are on the road towards rapid social and economic development in an environment of increasing globalization and we wish to further strengthen our cultural and historical ties to mutually beneficial economic and commercial ties.

Question 4: On March 29, 2007 the conference devoted to: “Foreign Policy of India: Cooperation with the Central Asia” was held in Tashkent; your esteemed Embassy was one of the co-sponsors of the conference. Could you brief us on the conference activities and on the role and place of Uzbekistan in the foreign policy of India?

Answer(Q.4.):  The conference “ Indian Foreign Policy: Engagement with Central Asia” was held with the objective to organize a get together of Indian diplomats and leading Uzbek experts as well  as students of International Relations to have a discussion on Indian Foreign Policy and  its  engagement with Central Asia. Experts covered mainly three topics: (1) India-Central Asia: Partners   for Regional Stability(2) Cultural Dimension of India's Foreign Policy   and (3) India-Central Asia  Economic Cooperation. Conference was well attended by scholars, academics, students and others.

Uzbekistan is in India's neighbourhood and has an important place in the foreign policy of India. Uzbekistan has the second largest population among the CIS countries. Both   countries cherish the common values of secularism and democracy. We have very strong historical and cultural ties since the ancient times. Geographically, Uzbekistan is in the heart of Central Asia, and therefore is a crucial country to maintain peace, security and stability in the Central Asia.  Uzbekistan is also a significant country to confront the menace of global terrorism and religious fundamentalism. Because of common border with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan can play a very crucial and constructive role in maintaining stability in the central Asia and prevent spread of terrorism in this region.  Being victims of terrorism, India and Uzbekistan are cooperating to fight the menace of terrorism together.

Question 5: India is a wonderland in the prime meaning of the word. The number of people wishing to visit this country is growing from year to year. But not everybody is aware of the visa procedures. What is the procedure of applying for a visa to India, both for citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan and for the other countries' citizens residing in the territory of Uzbekistan? What are the types of visas? How much are the consular fees? What is the place of visa issuance in Uzbekistan?

Answer (Q.5.): To obtain a visa, Visa application form (to be filled in English) along with two passport size photographs, confirmed air bookings, hotel booking/invitation from host is to be  produced  while submitting visa application. In case of other country's citizens residing in the territory of Uzbekistan, apart from above documents, they are required to produce proof of residence, registration/work visa in Uzbekistan.

We give various types of  visas, including tourist visa, business visa, student visa, employment visa, transit visa and other visas for research,  to attend International Conferences and Seminars in India,  film shooting etc. A fee of US $ 40 is charged for each visa (except transit visa, for which fee is $10) valid up to six months for all Uzbek nationals. Visa fee for other than Uzbek nationals is different depending on the country.

 In Uzbekistan, Visa application forms and Visa can be obtained from  Consular Section of the Embassy of India, Tashkent located at  15-16, Kara Bulak (Vakhshskaya) Street, Mirzo Ulugbek District, Tashkent, Tel: 998-71- 1400983, 14000997,1400998, Fax: 1400999
 Detailed information about visa is available on our embassy website www.indembassy.uz.
 
It is our endeavour to strengthen friendly ties with Uzbekistan and keeping this spirit in mind, in normal circumstances, we issue visa same day to Uzbek nationals and within 72 hours to other than Uzbek nationals. We expect similar gesture from Uzbek Government in issuing visas to Indian nationals in the shortest possible time.