On Tuesday November 5, Shukurjon Zuhurov, the head of the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) met here with a group of members of the European Parliament (Europarl) who arrived in Dushanbe to monitor the 2013 presidential election.

In the course of the talks, the sides discussed issues related to state and prospects of further expansion of cooperation between Tajikistan and the European Union (EU) countries, Muhammadato Sultonov, a spokesman for the Majlisi Namoyandagon, said.

Tajik parliamentary speaker reportedly appreciated the European Union’s support for implementation of projects aimed at promoting development of democracy and supremacy of law in Tajikistan, improvement of border management and control, enhancement of transportation and sectors in the country, environmental protection and demining operation along the Tajik-Uzbek border.

“Zuhurov noted that Tajikistan feels support of the EU countries on all directions of the Strategy for a New Partnership Between the European Union and Central Asia for 2007-2013,” Sultonov said.

Zuhurov also briefed MEPs on the process of the pre-election campaign in Tajikistan.

The European Parliament (abbreviated as Europarl or the EP) is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU). Together with the Council of the European Union (the Council) and the European Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described (by its own members) as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world.  The Parliament is currently composed of 766 members, who represent the second largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Parliament of India) and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world (375 million eligible voters in 2009)