Makhmadsaid Ubaidulloyev, the speaker of the upper house of Tajikistan’s parliament, has been elected chairman of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the European Economic Community (EurAsEC), replacing speaker of the State Duma lower house of Russian parliament Boris Gryzlov.

The reelection of chairman of the EurAsEC Interparliamentary Assembly at the eighth session of the Community on Wednesday was connected with the expiry of the previous chairman’s mandate. Under the regulations, chairman of the Interparliamentary Assembly is elected for two years on rotation depending on the alphabetic order of the countries’ names, Itar-Tass reported.

Deputy chairmen of the EurAsEC Interparliamentary Assembly were elected on Wednesday - Boris Gryzlov and representatives of parliaments of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan Ilgizar Sabirov and Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev.

Delivering an account of his activity as head of the Interparliamentary Assembly, Gryzlov described this period as "the important and productive stage in the work of the Interparliamentary Assembly." He noted that 39 normative legal acts had been adopted over that period.

"The emphasis was made on the formation of the common customs space, the use of transport potential of the Community, the creation of an energy market, the development of the agro-industrial potential, as well as the stepping up of interaction in the real sector of the economy," he said.

Gryzlov was elected chairman of the EurAsEC Interparliamentary Assembly in April 2006. Representatives of parliaments of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan headed the Interparliamentary Assembly before him.

The Eurasian Economic Community unites Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.