Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 4 December 2020, a meeting was held between the First Deputy Chairman of the Senate - the head of the inter-parliamentary group of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan on cooperation with the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) of the Parliament of India Sodik Safoev with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of India to Uzbekistan Manish Prabhat.

During the dialogue, it was noted that in recent years, bilateral cooperation has been raised to a qualitatively new level. The visits of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to India in 2018-2019 have created a solid foundation for large-scale cooperation.

It was emphasized that Uzbekistan and India are undergoing a process of reforms aimed at solving similar development problems. The emphasis is on the fact that countries are ready to share the accumulated experience of reform.

In this context, the Ambassador highly appreciated the conditions created in Uzbekistan for the development of freedom of speech and press. In this regard, Manish Prabhat stressed that the country is witnessing processes of democratization, which create new opportunities for strengthening cooperation between Uzbekistan and India.

Also during the meeting, the situation related to the pandemic and measures taken in both countries were discussed. It was noted that timely steps contribute to minimizing the consequences of COVID-19. The Indian side noted that the population of Uzbekistan showed a high level of discipline and responsibility during the pandemic, and the efforts of the country's government are bringing good results.

During the dialogue, issues of bilateral inter-parliamentary cooperation were also considered. It was noted that the groups for cooperation with the upper and lower chambers of the Indian Parliament created this year in the Senate and the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan make a significant contribution to the development of cooperation in this direction. The work of these structures contributes to the exchange of experience and the development of bilateral relations in this direction. 

The parties also discussed vectors for further cooperation. These include the export of agricultural products, the establishment of joint pharmaceutical production, the development of the infrastructure of information centers to support the new digitalization policy of Uzbekistan.

Also, proposals were voiced to establish close cooperation on the personnel exchange program, in particular, to increase the potential of parliamentarians and staff of the apparatus of both chambers.