Tashkent Camp Office/New Delhi, 9 Apr: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla today appreciated the scholars of Uzbekistan for their deep interest and understanding of Indian languages, including Hindi and Sanskrit. The Uzbek scholars have not only learned Indian languages but have also expressed it through their thoughts and literature, he observed. The scholars and students, through their teaching and research works, have strengthened the historic relationship between India and Uzbekistan, he added. He encouraged them to seek assistance from the Indian Embassy, if needed.
Birla made these remarks during his interaction with Indologists and students pursuing Hindi language in Uzbekistan.
Mentioning that India has an important role in shaping the 21st century, Birla highlighted that there are immense opportunities for collective development and collaboration with friendly nations like Uzbekistan. He added that through engagement in areas such as the environment, language, culture, and education, mutual understanding would be broadened. Birla recalled that, during his visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had highlighted the popularity of Indian films and music in Uzbekistan and reminded the audience that, in 2012, Uzbek Radio completed 50 years of broadcasting in Hindi.
Mentioning that India and Uzbekistan, though following different historical paths, are today progressing on the path of development, Birla noted that both countries share a long history of cooperation. He reminded that, after Uzbekistan’s independence, India was one of the first countries to recognise its sovereignty. He hoped that the two nations would play a key role in realising the dream of global human values, peace, stability, progress, and development in the 21st century.
Birla noted with satisfaction that India and Uzbekistan have strengthened their cooperation in various sectors such as politics, trade, investment, defence, security, counter-terrorism, science and technology, nuclear energy, space, and information technology. He added that, the two nations share strong cultural and educational ties. He mentioned that many Indologists have received prestigious awards for their diplomatic activities, including the highest awards in India and other countries. He also noted that an Uzbek-Hindi dictionary has also been created by the teachers in Uzbekistan, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also held bilateral talks with Nurdinjon Ismoilov, Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, during his visit to Uzbekistan as Head of the Indian Parliamentary Delegation (IPD) for the 150th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly. On this occasion, Birla highlighted transparency and effectiveness of India’s electoral management system. Successfully conducting such a largescale electoral process with transparency reflects India’s effective electoral management system, he stressed. Birla observed that it is through the increasing and active participation of citizens that India has achieved unprecedented development through democracy since independence. He added that continuous cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries on matters of shared interests and concerns will be essential for the exchange of views. He noted that reciprocal visits of parliamentary delegations and parliamentary diplomacy between India and Uzbekistan will not only promote parliamentary cooperation between the two countries but also strengthen mutual contact and goodwill among their citizens.
