Sitharaman meets Bukhara Governor, says India has a lot to offer to Uzbekistan

New Delhi [India], September 28 (ANI): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is on a five-day visit to Uzbekistan, met Bukhara city Governor Botir Zaripov on Saturday and called for strong tourism and people-to-people ties between the two countries.

She said India has a lot to offer to Uzbekistan, particularly to the young population of Uzbekistan who can bring development solutions from Indian start-ups through bilateral collaboration.

The Ministry of Finance said in a post on X that Sitharaman also spoke of the close collaboration of Indian Embassy in Tashkent with Bukhara State University.

“Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. @nsitharaman met Mr. Botir Zaripov, Governor of the city of Bukhara, at Bukhara, today. Mentioning the historical and cultural ties of Indian travellers and traders with Bukhara, FM Smt. @nsitharaman said that the popularity of Bukhara as a tourist destination is growing amongst Indian and that she will encourage both sides to further strengthen tourism and people to people ties,” Finance Ministry said in a post on X.

“As a testament to the deepening educational partnership between the two nations, the Union Finance Minister mentioned the establishment of Acharya University in Bukhara 2023. FM also mentioned the close collaboration of Indian Embassy @amb_tashkent with Bukhara State University, especially the setting up of India Corner in the University. FM Smt. @nsitharaman also noted that several students and faculty members from the University visit India under ITEC training programme of Government of India,” the Finance Ministry added.

Botir Zaripov thanked the Union Finance Minister for visiting Bukhara and mentioned that her visit will further strengthen the ties between India and Uzbekistan.

“As India is one of the largest and fastest growing #fintech ecosystems in the world, FM Smt. @nsitharaman mentioned that India has a lot to offer to Uzbekistan, particularly to the young population of Uzbekistan who can bring development solutions from Indian start-ups through bilateral collaboration,” the Finance Ministry said in its post on X.

“While appreciating the Union Finance Minister’s proposed collaboration between the two countries in various fields such as pharma, IT, EV, healthcare etc. Mr. Zaripov hoped to host business delegations from India in Bukhara in future,” it added.

Sitharaman is on a visit to Uzbekistan from September 24 to 28 to attend 9th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of AIIB and sign Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between India and Uzbekistan.

The BIT, signed on Friday, assures appropriate protection to Uzbekistan investors in India and vice versa in light of relevant international precedents and practices.

During her visit, the Finance Minister also held bilateral meetings with her counterparts.