AKIPRESS.COM - President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov met with Chairman of the lower chamber of the Parliament of Tajikistan Mahmadtoir Zokirzoda as part of his state visit to Tajikistan, the Foreign Ministry reported.

The parties emphasized the importance of the bilateral talks held at the highest level, which opened a new important milestone in the history of interstate dialogue, and received new incentives through parliaments.

Serdar Berdimuhamedov also expressed gratitude to the Chairman for his personal contribution to strengthening the Turkmen-Tajik friendship and cooperation.

The President noted that Turkmen MPs plan to create structures responsible for international and inter-parliamentary relations in near future. The hope was expressed that one of the first decisions in this direction would be the formation of Turkmenistan-Tajikistan Parliamentary Friendship Group. This group will contribute to the further development of contacts between the two parliaments.

Special attention was paid to the international component of cooperation through the Parliaments of both countries. The perspectives of the effective use by the Turkmen and Tajik parliamentarians of the platforms of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Inter-Parliamentary Assemblies of the OSCE and the CIS, other international and regional structures to promote the constructive initiatives of the two states in various fields were noted.

The importance of the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the States of Central Asia and Russia, which was first held in May last year in Ashgabat on the initiative of Chairman of the Parliament's upper house Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, was stressed as well.

On the same day, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov met with Chairman of the upper house of the Parliament of Tajikistan Rustami Emomali.

The head of Turkmenistan noted that there is a good opportunity to exchange views on the development of bilateral relations, outline promising areas of partnership in the international arena, and touch upon the topic of inter-parliamentary cooperation.

The priority vector of the Turkmen-Tajik dialogue in foreign policy was the strengthening of partnership and coordination of approaches to regional cooperation. The relevance and importance of the format of the Consultative Meetings of the Heads of State of Central Asia was noted.

The parties focused on the issues of interaction between the legislative bodies of the two countries during the talks. A stable inter-parliamentary dialogue has been established, mechanisms for professional communication have been launched, and delegations are exchanged on a regular basis. The Parliamentary Friendship Groups, whose activity is an effective instrument of mutual understanding between the fraternal peoples, are called upon to play an important role in this.