India-Uzbekistan $3B Trade Push: FTA and Investment Treaty Set Stage

For legal and compliance professionals, the dual announcements—an FTA exploration and an active investment treaty—create a rare advisory landscape. As India and Uzbekistan move to harmonize trade rules, law firms must prepare for a surge in tariff negotiation, IP protection, and investment structuring mandates.

India and Uzbekistan have set an ambitious target to double their bilateral trade to $3 billion within three years, as announced at the India-Uzbekistan Business Forum on August 3, 2026. The commitment, championed by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investment Laziz Kudratov, signals a strategic pivot toward deeper economic integration between South and Central Asia. With trade currently hovering at around $1.5 billion and about 400 Indian companies already operating in Uzbekistan, both sides acknowledged that the figures fall far short of potential. Goyal emphasized that trade must ‘lead from the front’ and proposed exploring a free trade agreement (FTA), calling it a promising idea. An existing Bilateral Investment Treaty already provides foundational legal protections for investors.

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India and Uzbekistan have set an ambitious target to double their bilateral trade to $3 billion within three years, as announced at the India-Uzbekistan Business Forum on August 3, 2026.

This push comes at a time when India is actively diversifying its trade and supply chains away from over-reliance on China, while Uzbekistan seeks to reduce its own economic dependence on Russia and China. The proposed FTA would eliminate or reduce tariffs, harmonize standards, and facilitate market access, directly benefiting sectors where India holds comparative advantages—IT services, pharmaceuticals, and skilled workforce—and where Uzbekistan offers complementary strengths in mining, cotton, and low-cost manufacturing. Goyal specifically highlighted co-investment, co-manufacturing, and co-innovation as engagement models.

From a market perspective, the doubling of trade implies an annual compound growth rate of about 26%, achievable given the low baseline and recent improvements in connectivity through the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and India’s investment in Iran’s Chabahar port. These infrastructure developments shorten transit times and lower logistics costs, making Central Asian markets more accessible for Indian exporters. For Uzbekistan, deeper ties with India open a gateway to the Indian Ocean and global markets, reducing the country’s double-landlocked isolation.