Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana began his official visit on Friday morning to two Muslim countries that no Knesset Speaker has visited before: Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, to which Ohana was invited in the midst of the Sword of Iron war. Senate President Tanzila Norbaeva met Ohana at the entrance to the magnificent parliament building, and the two walked to the Senate hall together. Ohana wrote in the Senate guestbook: "The deep and long-lasting friendship between the two peoples is rooted in thousands of years of shared history and constitutes a stable foundation for our flourishing relationship – both now and in the years to come." The Knesset delegation, which also included Knesset members Vladimir Beliak (Yesh Atid), Dan Illouz and Tsega Melaku (Likud), and Knesset Secretary Dan Marzouk, was received at an official reception ceremony in the lower house of the Uzbek Senate, where they met with the Speaker of the Lower House, Nuriddinjon Ismailov, and other members of Parliament. The visit to the capital of Uzbekistan was opened by Ohana and members of the Knesset at the Chkalova Synagogue in Tashkent, the capital, where they were greeted with a traditional trumpet and participated in the setting of the mezuzah that they had brought with them from Israel. Ohana laid a wreath at the Victory Park memorial to the rescue of the Jews during the Holocaust, where he met with 83-year-old Alexander Kozkhokin, a Jew who came to Uzbekistan as a refugee from World War II. In addition, the Knesset delegation held a meeting with members of the Jewish community. On Tuesday, Ohana will make an official visit to Kazakhstan, where he will meet, among others, with the President, the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the Lower House. The Knesset delegation will also participate in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) conference in Tashkent, which is attended by 97 countries from all over the world, including Iran and Arab countries. On Sunday, Ohana is due to deliver a diplomatic speech at the organization's plenum. At the same time, the Peace and Security Committee will hold a discussion, initiated by members of parliament from a number of countries, including Algeria and Ireland, calling for recognition of a Palestinian state. The Knesset members are expected to speak during the session and strongly condemn the initiative.