India, Uzbekistan sign IT deal

Indo-Asian News Service October 29 India will provide Uzbekistan Rs.30 million to set up a Centre of Information Technology, it was announced here Friday. A memorandum of understanding for this was signed between External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh and his Uzbekistan counterpart, Sadik S. Safayev, external affairs ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters. The assistance would be in the shape of a package that includes technical expertise, hardware, software, networking equipment, training, and deputation among other things, he said. The two ministers also held wide-ranging discussions on economic issues, including direct trade between the two countries. Safayev also proposed to launch a "Mughal" tour between India and Uzbekistan which could cover cities like Samarkand, Bukhara, Delhi and Agra and thus build upon the cultural and historical commonalities between the two countries. He also expressed desire to triple the frequency of flights of Uzbek Air from the present seven a week from Amritsar to Tashkent, besides double the existing four flights from Delhi to Tashkent. Safayev, who is on a two-day visit that began Friday, also wanted a new flight from Ahmedabad to Tashkent and expressed the desire to bilaterally liberalise the visa regime.