TASHKENT: Marko Mihkelson, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament), and his Latvian counterpart Rihards Kols will fly to Uzbekistan today (Saturday) to observe the presidential elections to be held tomorrow and meet with the country’s leaders, according to Riigikogu Press Service.
According to Mihkelson, Uzbekistan is an important country in a strategically vital region influenced by China’s and Russia’s interests, as well as events in Afghanistan. “Stability in Central Asia is also in Estonia’s security interests,” he emphasized.
The Chairmen of the Foreign Affairs Committees hope to gain an overview of the country’s current state as well as its political and economic progress during their visit, which will take place from Sunday to Tuesday. Mihkelson and Kols will meet in Tashkent with Sodiq Safoev, First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Oliy Majlis (Parliament) of Uzbekistan, Akmal Saidov, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bahtiyor Saidov, and Ibrohim Abdurakhmanov, Minister of Higher Education and Innovation. They will also meet with Laziz Kudratov, Minister of Investments, Industry, and Trade, and Ilkhom Makhkamov, Minister of Transport.
The Chairmen of the Foreign Affairs Committees plan to meet with the leaders of the President of Uzbekistan’s Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies and the International Institute for Central Asia. Mihkelson and Kols will also meet with the President of Uzbekistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and the Mayor of Tashkent.