Summary
On 22 October 2026, India and Uzbekistan held the 10th meeting of their Joint Working Group (JWG) on Counter-Terrorism in New Delhi. During the meeting the two nations agreed to boost information sharing, capacity building and exchange of best practices with regards to counter terrorism.
The meeting follows a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership confirmed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Tashkent on 29–30 August 2026, and the seventh Dustlik joint exercise in April 2026. The cooperation is steady and institutionalized rather than a sudden transition.
Background: a long-running JWG channel
The JWG on Counter-Terrorism is the main bilateral channel, even though its meetings are irregular. The 8th meeting took place in New Delhi on 16 July 2019, co-chaired by Mahaveer Singhvi of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Uzbek Ambassador Farhod Azriev. Topics on cross-border terrorism, radicalization, terror financing, internet misuse and returning foreign terrorist fighters were covered at the time.
The 9th meeting was held in Tashkent on 30 September 2025, co-chaired by Joint Secretary (Counter Terrorism) Vinod J. Bahade and Gulomjon Pirimkulov of Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry. Both nations have condemned the 22 April 2025 Pahalgam attack and discussed extremism, terror financing, misuse of technology and cross-border movement of terrorists.
Latest developments, 2026
Date | Event | Counter-terrorism content |
12–25 Apr 2026 | 7th Dustlik exercise, Namangan, Uzbekistan | 60 troops (Indian Army's Mahar Regiment, plus Indian Air Force); sub-conventional threats, 48-hour validation exercise |
3 Aug 2026 | External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's meeting in New Delhi | Described a common understanding and views of "zero tolerance" approach to terrorism and cross-border terrorism. |
29–30 Aug 2026 | Modi's state visit to Tashkent and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership | Joint statement condemned terrorism including cross-border terrorism; called for action on financing, safe havens and infrastructure. Agreed on intelligence sharing, law enforcement, anti-extremism, drugs, organized crime and cyber threats. |
22 Oct 2026 | 10th JWG on Counter-Terrorism, New Delhi | Agreed on Information sharing, capacity building, best practices and covered topics on extremism, radicalization, terror financing, technology misuse, crime–terror links. |
The 10th JWG was co-chaired by Dr Suhel Ajaz Khan, Additional Secretary (Counter Terrorism), MEA, and Gulomjon Pirimkulov of Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry. The two nations also explored cooperation between the agencies concerned and agreed to hold the next meeting in Uzbekistan.
Institutional framework
Cooperation now runs on several tracks, each with its own mechanism:
- Counter-terrorism JWG: MEA–Uzbek Foreign Ministry channel; reaffirmed in the August 2026 joint statement.
- Military cooperation: a JWG on Military Cooperation is exploring defence-industrial avenues. A JWG on Defence, set up in 2019, held its sixth meeting in Uzbekistan in August 2026.
- Dustlik exercise: the 6th edition was held in Pune in April 2025 and the 7th in Namangan in April 2026, alternating between the two countries.
- Multilateral forums: both sides reaffirmed cooperation at the UN, in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) and in the Eurasian Group on combating money laundering and terrorist financing (EAG).
- Political oversight: a Foreign Ministers-led mechanism to coordinate and review agreements, agreed in August 2026.
Strategic context
The shared concern also come from the militancy and spill over emanating from Afghanistan. A Jamestown Foundation analysis (14 April 2023) says Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has built Tajik and Uzbek media wings since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, and that ISKP launched rocket attacks against Uzbekistan in April and May 2022.
With regards to India, the Uzbek track also fits a larger push into Central Asia. The August 2026 statement lists a Central Asia–India leaders' format among the mechanisms, and Uzbekistan is also tied to India through a $5 billion trade target by 2030, defence-industrial talks and critical minerals. Counter-terrorism language, including "cross-border terrorism", has an obvious resonance for New Delhi's Pakistan-focused issues.
More on related topics:
THE 26TH SCO SUMMIT AT 25 YEARS: https://www.thestrategicperspective.org/the-26-sco-summit-at-25-years/
Container Train from China to Afghanistan: New Route via Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan: https://www.thestrategicperspective.org/container-train-from-china-to-afghanistan-new-route/
Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan Sign Agreement on Trans-Afghan Railway: https://www.thestrategicperspective.org/uzbekistan-pakistan-and-afghanistan-sign-agreement-on-trans-afghan-railway/
India-Uzbekistan joint military drill: https://www.thestrategicperspective.org/india-uzbekistan-joint-military-drill/
