Visit to Canada of Her Excellency Diloram G. Tashmukhamedova, Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and a Parliamentary Delegation

From April 15 to 19, 2013, Her Excellency Diloram G. Tashmukhamedova, Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, led a parliamentary delegation to Ottawa and Toronto at the invitation of the Honourable Andrew Scheer, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons. The delegation was composed of Mr. Abdugafur Mamatov, M.P., Chair of the Canada-Uzbekistan Parliamentary Friendship Group, Mr. Alisher Akramov, M.P., Mr. Shavkat Teshaev, M.P., Ms. Dilorom Fayzieva, M.P., and Mr. Farkhod Fayzillaev, Assistant to the Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Canada.

In Ottawa, the delegation held meetings with:

• The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate;
• The Honourable Andrew Scheer, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons;
• A number of Senators and MPs during official meals hosted by Speakers Kinsella and Scheer;
• Mr. Deepak Obhrai, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs;
• Mr. Pierre Lemieux, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture;
• Mr. Joe Daniel, M.P., Chair of the Canada-Uzbekistan Friendship Group;
• Mr. Dean Allison, M.P., Chair of the Canadian Delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA);
• Members of the Standing Committee on Finance of the House of Commons;
• Mrs. Sonia L’Heureux, Parliamentary Librarian;
• Mr. Michael Ferguson, Auditor General of Canada;
• His Worship Jim Watson, Mayor of the City of Ottawa;
• Mrs. Karen McBride, President, Canadian Bureau for International Education; and
• Mrs. Marie-Josée Fortin, Director, International Partnership Programs at Association of Canadian Community Colleges.

In Toronto, the delegation met with:

• The Honourable Dave Levac, MPP, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario;
• Ms. Dipika Damerla, MPP;
• Mr. Monte McNaughton, MPP;
• Ms. Cheri DiNovo, MPP;
• His Worship Dave Eke, Lord Mayor of Niagara-on-the-Lake;
• Ms. Tonia Grannum, Clerk of Procedural Services;
• Mr. Andrew Parkin, Director General of the Council of Ministers of Education of Canada;
• Mr. Louis Lizotte, Lead Coordinator, National and International Liaison, Ministry of Education; and
• Canadian business people who are member of the Canada Eurasia Russia Business Association.

In addition to these meetings, members of the delegation made a presentation at the Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies of Carleton University, and visited the Canadian Museum of Civilizations. In Toronto, the delegates met members of the Canada Eurasia Russia Business Association and visited Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls.

The visit served to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries and allowed delegates to meet various Canadian officials. Several issues were discussed, including post-secondary education, agriculture, trade and investment opportunities.