DUSHANBE, August 28, 2012, Asia-Plus — A Norwegian parliamentary delegation, led by deputy speaker Akhtar Chaudhry, has been in Tajikistan on a working visit.
On August 28, Norwegian MPs held talks with President Emomali Rahmon and Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi. Their discussions with high ranking Tajik state officials reportedly focused on issues related to economic and cultural cooperation between Tajikistan and Norway, democratization of society, providing security in Central Asia and strengthening Tajikistan’s common border with Afghanistan.
Besides, a special attention was paid to use of the OSCE instruments for tackling topical problems at both national and regional levels, the source said.
On the same day, the Norwegian parliamentary delegation met with Mr. Shukurjon Zuhurov, the speaker of Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament.
The sides agreed to set up Tajik-Norwegian parliamentary friendship groups, Muhammadato Sultonov, a spokesman for the Majlisi Namoyandagon said.
Haque Nawaz Akhtar Chaudhry (born 23 July 1961) is a Pakistani-Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party and 4th Vice President (deputy speaker) of the Norwegian parliament. Chaudhry came to Norway from Pakistan in 1982. He served in the position of deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo during the terms 2001–2005 and 2005–2009. Halfway into the latter term, in 2007, he moved up as a regular representative as Heidi Sorensen (who in turn filled in for Kristin Halvorsen) was appointed State Secretary. He has been a member of Parliament since then. When Heidi Sorensen returned to Parliament in 2012, Heikki Holmas joined the cabinet, so from then Chaudhry replaced him in Parliament.
The supreme legislature is called Storting (literally “the great assembly”). Located in Oslo, the unicameral parliament has 169 members, and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional representation in nineteen plural member constituencies. The assembly is led by a presidium of a president and five vice presidents. The members are allocated to twelve standing committees, as well as four procedural committees. Parliament was established by the Constitution of Norway in 1814.
