New Delhi, Mar 17 (IANS): The Indian Parliament is considering a proposal to form a Parliamentary Friendship Group with the friendly nations to strengthen bilateral relations.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla shared the information on Tuesday while meeting Dilshod Akhatov, the Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan, at the Parliament.

During the meeting, Birla noted that the India Friendship Group has been formed in both the Houses of the Uzbek Parliament and informed that a proposal to form a Parliamentary Friendship Group for Uzbekistan is under consideration.

Welcoming Akhatov, Birla mentioned about the close relations between India and Uzbekistan, stating that the two countries share friendly relations, and are also strategic partners.

Birla said that there has been a steady increase in cooperation between India and Uzbekistan in all areas, including politics, trade, culture, science, humanitarian, defense and education, over the years.

He further stated that the strategic partnership of the two countries has reached new heights after the visits to Uzbekistan in 2015 and 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the visits to India in 2018 and 2019 by Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirzioev.

Birla emphasised on the interactions between democratic countries and sharing of best practices for furthering parliamentary diplomacy.

In this regard, Birla expressed his gratitude to the Chairman of Oli Majlis (Uzbek Parliament) for extending him an invitation to visit Uzbekistan.

Birla noted that the Parliaments of the two countries are working to strengthen bilateral relations.

On capacity building of parliaments, the Lok Sabha Speaker said that there is good cooperation between the two countries in the field of training and capacity building.

Birla also focused on issues like tourism, agriculture, health and renewable energy and said that these areas have immense potential to increase bilateral trade.

He mentioned that through the Chabahar port in Iran and being part of Uzbekistan's INSTC (International North-South Transport Corridor), India and Uzbekistan and the whole of Central Asia will have better connectivity in the future.

On the military cooperation between the two countries, Birla said that the ongoing Indo-Uzbekistan joint military exercise 'Dustalik-II' in Uttarakhand is an important milestone in the growing cooperation between the two countries.