The Interparliamentary Commission on Cooperation between the Federation Council and the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan holds a meeting.
The Inter-Parliamentary Commission for Cooperation between the Federation Council and the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan held its fifth meeting.
The meeting was conducted by co-chairs of the commission Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Iliyas Umakhanov and First Deputy Speaker of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sadyk Safayev.
Meeting participants discussed the status and prospects for the further promotion of inter-parliamentary cooperation between the Federation Council and the Oliy Majlis Senate, including the Plan for Practical Measures (roadmap) for 2020 and the Action Plan for 2021. They also reviewed the current migration situation and opportunities of cooperation in the agro-industrial sector.
Iliyas Umakhanov noted that the relationship between Russia and Uzbekistan is a strategic partnership which is determined by the leaders of our countries. “Our inter-parliamentary contacts are systematic and vibrant. The speakers of the upper chambers of our parliaments maintain permanent contact on bilateral cooperation, as well as on regional and international issues,” he said.
Iliyas Umakhanov said preparations for the visit of President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Russia are now underway. “The MPs are ready to join the efforts to prepare a forum for Russian and Uzbek regions as part of this visit,” he said.
Ilyas Umakhanov said the Uzbek members of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly commission are very active in harmonising the legislation of the two countries on a broad range of issues and on strengthening the CIS inter-parliamentary dimension.
The Senator said our countries were developing humanitarian cooperation, primarily in science and education. “There are 11 Russian university affiliates in Uzbekistan and four more are about to open. Cooperation between research institutions is making headway. We have launched a new project on teaching the Russian language and personnel retraining. We plan to send a hundred Russian specialists to Uzbekistan in the near future. They will organise professional personnel retraining and will work in schools. We plan to hold the second Russia-Uzbekistan educational forum as part of the preparations for the interregional forum,” he said.
Ilyas Umakhanov recalled that Russia plans to conduct a World Conference on Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue in cooperation with the UN. He invited his Uzbek colleagues to join the preparations for this international event.
Sadyk Safayev noted that Russia is one of Uzbekistan’s priority partners and that their relations have reached a fundamentally new level in the past few years. He emphasised the importance of developing cooperation in the bilateral and multilateral formats, including the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in which Uzbekistan has observer status.
He said to enhance the efficiency of the partnership in various areas, the MPs of both countries must do a lot to harmonise their laws.
Sadyk Safayev noted that our countries have a lot of potential for cooperation between their regions and in the agro-industrial sector, as well as in education, and the cultural and tourism areas.
The First Deputy Speaker of the Senate thanked his Russian colleagues for helping organise a joint project to improve the teaching of Russian and general education subjects in Russian.
The meeting of the inter-parliamentary commission was attended by First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Russian Co-Chair of the Commission on Cooperation between the Federation Council and the Senate of the Oliy Majlis Vladimir Jabarov; Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Agriculture and Food Policy and Environmental Management Alexei Majorov, Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy Tatyana Kusaiko, Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture Viktor Smirnov; member of the Federation Council Committee on Agriculture and Food Policy and Environmental Management Arsen Fadzayev, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Sergei Levin; State Secretary and Deputy Minister of the Interior Igor Zubov; member of the Expert Council at the Committee on Agriculture and Food Policy and Environmental Management Sergei Lisovsky, and representatives of executive government bodies.