Uzbek foreign minister to visit India after recent parliamentary polls

Uzbekistan’s first major official foreign engagement in the New Year will kick start with India itself. Uzbek foreign minister Abdulaziz Kamilov will be among the keynote speakers at the 5th edition of the ministry of external affairs led premier think tank initiative the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi in January, says Uzbek Ambassador Farhod Arziev to senior journalist Smita Sharma.

Hyderabad: Uzbekistan hopes the recently concluded parliamentary elections will further strengthen democratic reforms in the country. Five political parties competed for the December 22nd elections to choose MPs for 150 seats of the Legislative Chamber of the Uzbek Parliament or Oliy Majlis.

The Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan won 43 seats whereas the National Revival Party bagged 35 seats. Interestingly the Ecological Party focusing on environmental issues managed to win 11 seats too in the first parliamentary polls held under the ‘New Uzbekistan, New Elections’ motto since President Shaukat Mrziyoyev came to power. The voting process was monitored by over 800 international observers from 10 global organizations and 50 countries including 11 observers from India.

Going forward Uzbek Ambassador in Delhi Farhod Arziev hopes to learn from India’s Democratic processes. “In the area of parliamentary cooperation, we see great potential between Uzbekistan and India. For 2020 we are planning several parliamentary delegations exchanges. We know India has a very rich parliamentary experience and it would be in our interest to benefit from it.”

Meanwhile, like in 2019 Uzbekistan’s first major official foreign engagement in the New Year will kick start with India itself. Uzbek foreign minister Abdulaziz Kamilov will be among the keynote speakers at the 5th edition of the ministry of external affairs led premier think tank initiative the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi in January.

During his visit, Kamilov will also hold consultations with EAM Dr.S Jaishankar and the two sides will review various aspects of the bilateral relations including trade and security cooperation. This will be the first high-level contact between the two sides since the conclusion of the Uzbek parliamentary elections.

Uzbekistan is today among India’s key security partners in Central Asia with the two sides have signed counter-terrorism and organised crime cooperation agreements in November this year. Tashkent is also cooperating closely with New Delhi in Afghanistan and the Chabahar port.

Uzbekistan also hopes to showcase the best of its handicrafts and Ikkat textiles as a partner country for the 2020 Surajkund Mela. A fashion show by Ritu Beri will be hosted at its grand opening on 31st January. More than a million visitors throng the vibrant world’s biggest craft fair in Surajkund in Haryana each year in the first fortnight of February.

Ambassador Arziev informed that nearly two dozen Uzbek handicraft organizations will exhibit and sell their products at the mega event. An Uzbek fortnight will also be organised in India in February 2020 that will showcase the country’s culture, fashion and cuisine.

India is among the top nations contributing to tourism in the beautiful Central Asian nation, formerly with the Soviet Union. Bilateral trade between the two nations has grown from 201 million USD in 2017 to nearly 300 million USD this year.

By Smita Sharma