Fajara Asia – Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, held a bilateral meeting with the Chair of the Uzbekistan Parliament Senate, Tanzila Narbaeva. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Women Speakers Summit Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
The IPU 14th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament (14SWSP) was held in the capital city of Uzbekistan, Tashkent. Puan and Tanzila Narbaeva held a bilateral meeting on the second day of 14SWSP, Friday (9/9/2022).
In the meeting, Puan appreciated the Uzbekistan Senate as the host for the 14SWSP.
“The issue of gender equality is the main issue that I always fight in Indonesia and at the global level. Therefore, I am interested in participating in the 14th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament,” said Puan.
To Tanzila Narbaeva, the first woman who served as Chair of the Indonesian House of Representatives, expressed her joy at being able to come to Uzbekistan. According to Puan, her visit to Uzbekistan has historical value.
“Because of my grandfather, President Soekarno visited Uzbekistan in 1956 and asked the Soviet Union government to find and restore the tomb of Imam Al-Bhukari,” he said.
“So my visit to Uzbekistan was a trace. The close relationship between the two countries can be seen from the many people of Uzbekistan who know Bung Karno,” continued Puan.
Puan also appreciated the good relations between Indonesia and Uzbekistan where diplomatic relations between the two countries had reached 30 years since 1992. Therefore, she considered this bilateral meeting to be a momentum to discuss increasing various cooperations between Indonesia and Uzbekistan.
“Uzbekistan is a strategic trading partner for Indonesia in Central Asia. I appreciate Uzbekistan’s trust in Indonesian companies for investment cooperation,” said Puan.
The investment cooperation in question includes Uzbekistan’s investment in Indonesia in the telecommunications sector and the signing of a cooperation in the field of tourism and hotel management in the Imam Al-Bukhari mausoleum area in Samarkand. Puan views that it is necessary to encourage the business mission and promotion of the two countries.
“In terms of education, social and culture, I appreciate the formation of the ‘Uzbekistan-Indonesia Friendship Society’ which is a forum for the Darmasiswa program that Indonesia provides for students from Uzbekistan,” he explained.
Puan also gave awards for teaching Indonesian language activities at various universities in Uzbekistan, including at Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies and Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Language. He views that there needs to be increased cooperation in the tourism sector.
“As countries that both have a Muslim majority population, Indonesia (NTB Province) and Uzbekistan (Bukhara) already have Halal Tourism cooperation,” explained Puan.
Furthermore, the former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture assessed the importance of parliamentary diplomacy both bilaterally and multilaterally. Moreover, said Puan, the Indonesian Parliament and the Uzbekistan Parliament have been interacting in parliamentary forums such as the IPU and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA).
“In addition, the DPR RI has formed a Bilateral Cooperation Group (GKSB) with 102 parliaments of friendly countries, including the Uzbekistan Parliament. This is a manifestation of the desire to build and strengthen relations between the two countries’ parliaments,” he explained.
Puan also praised Tanzila Narbaeva’s leadership. She hopes that the DPR RI and the Uzbekistan Parliament can strengthen cooperation in the context of increasing women’s leadership capacity and promoting gender equality, in order to encourage women to be involved in politics and policy making.
“As a fellow Chair of the women’s Parliament, I appreciate Your Excellency’s leadership at this Women’s Speaker Summit,” said Puan.
Tanzila Narbaeva said the same thing. On that occasion, Tanzila also congratulated Puan, who just had her birthday on September 6.
According to Tanzila, Puan’s visit was an important and historic moment for Indonesia’s relations with Uzbekistan. He also mentioned Bung Karno’s great service to the people and his country because the proclaimer helped find and encourage the restoration of the tomb of Imam Al-Bukhari, the great Islamic figure of Uzbekistan.
“Bung Karno was also instrumental because he was the first group of state leaders to visit Uzbekistan, during the Soviet Union. And President Soekarno was one of the first world leaders to make a pilgrimage to the tomb of Imam Al-Bukhari,” said Tanzila.
Given the historical relationship, Tanzila proposed fostering a deeper relationship between Indonesia and Uzbekistan. Starting from improving economic, tourism, social and inter-parliamentary relations.
Tanzila also assessed the possibility of sister city cooperation between the cities of Samarkand and Surabaya, and there was also a proposal to hold an ‘Indonesian Day’ in Tashkent.
“Uzbekistan sees the potential for pilgrimage visits by Indonesian pilgrims to Samarkand, after performing Umrah,” he added.
“We also invite Ms. Puan Maharani and the DPR Delegation to specifically make a visit to Tashkent,” continued Tanzila.
Puan Meets with the Secretary General of IPU
In addition to meeting the Chair of the Uzbekistan Parliamentary Senate, Puan also held a bilateral meeting with the Secretary General of the IPU, Martin Chungong. During the meeting, Puan conveyed some information regarding the readiness of the DPR to host the 8th Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) which will be held on 5-7 October in Jakarta.
The theme of P20 is “Stronger Parliaments for Sustainable Recovery”.
“This theme is in line with the pandemic recovery which places parliament in a key position in ensuring the realization of welfare for the community in an inclusive manner,” said Puan.
“The P20 meeting will invite all parliaments of G20 member countries, parliaments of friendly countries, and of course the IPU, so that it can be an effective forum to discuss and find solutions to various global issues of mutual concern,” he added.
Puan added, the P20 meeting is very relevant to provide parliament’s views and perspectives on various issues discussed on the G20 agenda. So it is hoped that the various achievements of the G20 will focus on recovery efforts that focus on the individual (people-centered).
“I would like to reiterate the readiness of the DPR RI to continue to cooperate and collaborate with the IPU to make the 8th Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) successful in Jakarta,” said Puan.
Puan also mentioned the core meeting of the P20 where the DPR together with the IPU will hold the Parliamentary Forum in the Context of the G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit which will take place on October 5, 2022.
The meeting will discuss the contribution of the parliaments of G20 member countries in responding to various global challenges that exist today. One of them, said Puan, is by strengthening multilateralism and global cooperation.
“Given the importance of parliament’s role in responding to global challenges and ensuring inclusive post-pandemic recovery, I think that all parliaments need to attend the 8th Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) event,” he explained.
“For that, I hope for support from the IPU to be able to encourage the presence of all G20 parliament members in the 8th Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20),” concluded Puan.****
