Speakers of lower chambers of Russian, Uzbek parliaments sign cooperation agreement
TASHKENT. Sept 16 (Interfax) - Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and the speaker of the lower house of the Uzbek parliament, Nurdinzhon Ismoilov, have signed an agreement on inter-chamber interparliamentary cooperation in Tashkent.
The agreement provides that "the parties may envisage the creation of a permanent cooperation mechanism to boost the effectiveness of joint activities."
After the document was signed, Volodin said that "this is the start of a big stage" in bilateral interparliamentary relations. Ismoilov, in turn, called the agreement "a breakthrough."
Volodin said the agreement signed on Monday makes it possible to create interaction formats between the two countries' parliaments. For example, an interparliamentary commission, which will discuss the entire range of bilateral issues, may be such a format.
Russia has already implemented such formats with numerous countries, including China, Italy, Kazakhstan, France, and Iran, he said.
"This is the first step, it will help achieve specific interaction format in the future," Volodin said.
The two countries' parliaments have worked on achieving this agreement since 1997, he said.
Volodin is currently on an official visit in Uzbekistan. The last time he visited Uzbekistan was in 2006.