Samarkand: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with Uzbekistan Trade Minister Laziz Kudratov in Samarkand, and discussed areas of mutual interest in renewable energy, fertilisers, and pharmaceuticals, aiming to strengthen economic relations between the two countries.

The two leaders acknowledged the successful agreement towards the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between India and Uzbekistan and agreed that the signing of BIT will bolster investor confidence in each other's market

"Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman met Laziz Kudratov, Minister of Investments, Industry and Trade of the Republic Uzbekistan, ahead of the Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), in Samarkand, today," the Ministry of Finance stated in a post on X.

"Both the Ministers discussed issues of mutual interest related to bilateral trade, especially in the areas of renewable energy, fertiliser, pharmaceutical sector. Both the ministers acknowledged the successful agreement towards the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between India and Uzbekistan and agreed that the signing of BIT will bolster investor confidence in each other's market, especially in the healthcare, hospitality and tourism, higher education, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture sectors," the post added.

The two leaders also spoke about the Digital Payments revolution in India, including RuPay card and UPI mechanism.

"FM Nirmala Sitharaman and Kudratov also discussed the DigitalPayments revolution in India, including RuPay card and UPI mechanism as a platform for digital payments. Kudratov while appreciating India's growth story, stressed to further enhance the bilateral trade and connectivity," the Ministry added.

Notably, Sitharaman embarked on a five-day official visit to Uzbekistan on Tuesday.

During the visit, Sitharaman will attend the Ninth Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) scheduled in Samarkand on Wednesday-Thursday, besides other important bilateral meetings with her counterparts from Uzbekistan, Qatar, China, and AIIB President, the Ministry of Finance had said in a statement.

In the Annual Meeting of AIIB, the Union Finance Minister will attend as the Indian Governor to the AIIB.

India is the second largest shareholder of the bank. The multilateral discussions centred around a broad spectrum of important global issues relevant to the development agenda.

The AIIB Annual Meeting witnesses' participation of delegations from around 80 countries, and other international organisations.

As a multilateral development bank, AIIB is focused on developing sustainable infrastructure in Asia and in promoting investments in infrastructure and other productive sectors with a view to foster sustainable economic development, create wealth and improve infrastructure connectivity.

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