Astana, April 11. The House of the Mazhilis. Chairman of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili, who arrived in Kazakhstan on an official visit, met with Speaker of the Mazhilis Yerlan Koshanov.

This is the first official visit of Shalva Papuashvili to Astana. Welcoming the delegation of the Parliament of Georgia to the Mazhilis, Yerlan Koshanov noted that the Kazakh and Georgian peoples share close historical ties and cultural traditions. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, an effective political dialogue has been established between the countries.

– Kazakhstan attaches great importance to further strengthening comprehensive cooperation with Georgia. Today's meeting will allow us to discuss the possibilities of intensifying our interparliamentary cooperation. At the initiative of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, large-scale political and economic reforms are being carried out in Kazakhstan. They have completely restarted the work of all branches of government and expanded public participation in politics," the Speaker of the Mazhilis said.

Yerlan Koshanov spoke about the results of the constitutional reform, the presidential and parliamentary elections, and the activities of the Constitutional Court. The Speaker also familiarized his Georgian counterpart with the legislative activities of the renewed Chamber.

In turn, the Chairman of the Georgian Parliament thanked the Kazakh side for the warm welcome and expressed hope that his official visit would give a new impetus to the development of inter-parliamentary relations.

– Of course, parliaments do not have the levers of executive power, but they have two important tools in their hands. The first is the definition of the country's development policy, the second is the creation of a legal framework for the implementation of this policy. And we, parliamentarians, can do a lot to ensure that our governments can successfully develop bilateral cooperation," Shalva Papuashvili said.

The head of the Georgian delegation expressed words of support in connection with floods in the regions of Kazakhstan and wished the consequences of the disaster to be overcome as soon as possible.

The parties noted the similarity of the parliamentary agenda on issues such as gender equality, protection of the rights of women and children, reform of budget and tax legislation, architectural and construction activities. The speakers agreed on the exchange of experience on these topics between the deputies of the relevant committees.

– As a colleague, you are well aware that updating legislation is the dictate of the times. And the task of the deputies is to respond in a timely manner to legislative changes in various sectors," the Speaker of the Mazhilis added.

The sides also discussed prospects for expanding cooperation between Kazakhstan and Georgia in the economic, agro-industrial, transit and transport, tourism, cultural and humanitarian spheres.

Mazhilis Press Service, 74-66-20. Photo by J.Zhumabekov.