Distinguished Emomali Rahmon,
Distinguished Mahmadtoir Zokirzoda,
Dear colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am sincerely happy to welcome you on the occasion of the International Inter-Parliamentary Conference titled 30th Anniversary of the Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan and I would like to congratulate our distinguished Tajik colleagues on the 30th Anniversary of the Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan.
It is a great honour for our delegation to be in the hospitable land of Tajikistan.
The Constitution is called a fundamental law, as the latter is the only or one of the few laws, which are usually adopted by nationwide voting.
In the modern world, which is marked with global geopolitical, social economic changes, technological and digital transformations, challenges and ordeals, the dynamics of public relations is also changed, and in this context the parliament as a legislative and representational body of the state plays a pivotal role.
The formation of the constitutional culture and development is directly connected with building, establishment and strengthening of legal state. The constitutional culture is the knowledge of not only the text of Constitution, but also the respect towards the provisions and ideas containing in the Constitution, its protection and the implementation of the imperatives.
Colleagues,
Let me mention that the Armenian legal mind comes from old times. In particular, in the 12th century Mkhitar Gosh created the Code of Fundamental Secular Laws. The idea of parliamentary governance arose in the Armenian reality at the end of the 18th century, when an Armenian thinker Shahamir Shahamiryan in his journalistic work Vorogayt Pararts (Snares of Glory) for the first time formulated the fundamental principles of the constitutional republic and parliamentary system.
In 1860, in Constantinople the Armenian National Common Assembly adopted the National Constitution, a law, which regulated the inner life of Western Armenians.
The citizens’ attitude to the basic law of the land is a litmus test to evaluate the level of formation of sovereign, democratic, legal, secular, Unitarian state, where the human and citizen’s rights and freedoms are honoured and protected. In this context it is necessary to note the delicate attitude of the people and the Government of Tajikistan to their Constitution.
The attitude of our Tajik friends towards the inviolability of such fundamental principles enshrined in the text of the Constitution is familiar and understandable to the Republic of Armenia, as the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the republic.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Armenian-Tajik relations are based on our peoples’ centuries-old friendship closely connected with ties of trust, respect and mutual support.
The activation of direct dialogue through parliaments opens very good opportunities for deepening our cooperation and expanding through new perspective directions of joint activity.
I am sure that the relations based on mutual respect of the peoples of our countries, which are also enshrined in the Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation between Armenia and Tajikistan on April 3, 2002, have considerable unrealized resource.
I would like once again to congratulate our Tajik colleagues for warm reception and organization of the International Inter-Parliamentary Conference.
Thank you for your attention.