There are great prospects for cooperation between Uzbekistan and India, the Indian ambassador to the country, Skand Ranjan Tayal, has said in an interview to the Uzbek newspaper of Narodnoye Slovo.

In his interview, which was published by the paper on 1 August, Skand Ranjan Tayal, said: "There are great prospects for our cooperation. I am convinced that mutual relations which have been established, as well as growing relations between state institutions, academic and business circles, will further develop in an all-round fashion."

"Our countries have similar points of view on issues of the social and economic development, the strengthening of peace and stability in the region and the world as a whole," he also said.

In response to the question as to which areas of cooperation between Uzbekistan and India the ambassador regards as those of priority, he cited some bilateral memorandums relating to hydrocarbon resources, the exploration of gas fields and the exploration for non-ferrous metals, which were signed during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Uzbekistan in April 2006.

"These sectors are areas of priority in cooperation between our countries," he also said.

He added that: "Indian companies are ready to make large investments into your economy. They are confident about its stability."

"India regards Uzbekistan as a country which plays an important role in ensuring stability and security in Central Asia," Skand Ranjan Tayal remarked.

He also said: "We are in favour of the further development of investment cooperation in agriculture, science and high technology, as well as the designing and implementation of mutually beneficial projects. In future, we would like to cooperate in developing new technologies in such developing fields of science as solar power engineering."

In his closing remarks, the ambassador congratulated the Uzbek nation on the occasion of the coming Independence Day holiday.