Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 10 February this year, the first inter-parliamentary forum of Central Asian states was held in the city of Turkestan of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

A parliamentary delegation headed by the Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Tanzila Narbayeva also took part in it.

The heads of states of Central Asia sent greetings to the participants of the Forum.

The greeting of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the participants of the first inter-parliamentary forum of the states of Central Asia was read by the Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis Tanzila Narbayeva.

Particular attention at the Forum was paid to the issues of strengthening strategic cooperation between the countries of Central Asia and further enhancing the role of parliaments in this process.

It should be noted that an active political dialogue based on mutual trust between the leaders of the states of the region, which has developed at the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan, is characterized by consistency and regularity. This, in turn, creates the foundation for making important initiatives and decisions on such issues as ensuring peace and prosperity, security, resolving border issues in which the countries of Central Asia are equally interested, as well as on issues of regional and international importance related to the economy, investment, tourism, culture, health and ecology.

It was especially noted at the Forum that today the role and importance of parliamentary diplomacy in the development of regional cooperation is also growing. Especially in the current conditions of a global threat, it is more important than ever to unite the efforts of the parliaments of fraternal and friendly peoples, to use their potential more widely.

In this regard, the Concept of Parliamentary Diplomacy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, adopted in our country, has a positive effect on the basis of priority areas for further strengthening effective inter-parliamentary relations with its closest neighbors.

In this regard, the head of the parliamentary delegation of Uzbekistan in her speech noted that the intensive processes of mutually beneficial cooperation in Central Asia, in turn, impose great responsibility on parliamentarians.

- In conditions of high turbulence in international politics and against the backdrop of intensifying crisis phenomena in the global economy, there is an increasing demand for consolidating the efforts of the parliaments of the Central Asian states, their response as a united front to emerging challenges.

The launch of this Forum will give a significant impetus to regional cooperation and will contribute to the rapprochement of peoples, since the resources of parliaments will be involved.

Legislators are well aware of the needs of the people, they know the problems on the ground, which contributes to the development of solutions that meet the interests of the peoples living in Central Asia.

We need to intensify work on the formation of a legal basis for parliamentary interaction within the framework of the new platform we are creating.

We also consider it expedient to conduct an in-depth analysis and improve legislative norms for harmonization and convergence of national legal frameworks, - said Senate Chairperson T. Narbayeva.

At the Forum, discussions also focused on the issues of enhancing the participation of parliamentarians in expanding cultural and humanitarian cooperation on the basis of a common historical and cultural heritage.

It should be noted that in recent years, friendly relations between the states of the region, formed over the centuries and strengthened at the present time, are also characterized by a common language, customs, traditions and values of our peoples.

Based on this, the Forum participants exchanged views on the development of bilateral and multilateral relations between our countries, the holding of various forums, festivals, cultural events, the implementation of cooperation projects in the field of tourism, which serve to further unite our peoples.

At the end of the event, the Turkestan Declaration of the first inter-parliamentary forum of the states of Central Asia was adopted, aimed at further strengthening inter-parliamentary ties in order to support a comprehensive strategic partnership between the countries of the region.