The Ministers of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan Pulat Bobojonov and Russia Vladimir Kolokoltsev, during the latter’s visit to Tashkent on June 25, discussed bilateral ties between the two countries in the law enforcement area, the press service of the Uzbek Interior Ministry said.

At the meeting, they discussed ensuring the rights and freedoms of Uzbeks in Russia, as well as Russian citizens in Uzbekistan, preventing crimes among them, suppressing illegal migration, combating crime, including cybercrime, fraud, drug trafficking and others types of transnational organized crime.

In addition, they also focused on cooperation of the ministries’ services in the capture of wanted persons.

The parties also emphasized the need for training and advanced training of personnel for internal affairs bodies, as well as strengthening ties in scientific research.

Vladimir Kolokoltsev, in particular, noted that not all labor migrants are within the legal framework; they are identified and brought to justice, said official representative of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Irina Volk.

The Russian minister called on his Uzbek colleagues to join the Agreement on mutual legal assistance on administrative issues in the field of exchange of personal data, send information to the Interstate Information Bank for registering convicted citizens of the republic and organize on a regular basis the exchange of information about citizens of Uzbekistan who have changed their settings. According to him, this is necessary to streamline migration flows, reduce negative trends in this area and ensure the security of the two states.

In addition, the Russian minister supported the proposal of the Uzbek Minister to organize direct contacts between the Cybersecurity Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan and the Directorate for organizing the fight against illegal use of information and communication technologies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

Vladimir Kolokoltsev outlined the interest of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in developing cooperation in combating drug trafficking. “The joint measures taken by the competent departments of the two states to suppress the activities of transnational criminal groups have already shown their effectiveness,” the statement says.

Following the meeting, the parties signed a relevant Minutes of Meeting, which defined the measures necessary to implement the agreements reached during the meeting, as well as tasks for the near future.