If the greatest gift given to humans is life, then, without a doubt, the highest goal that humanity has always strived for is peace and harmony. That is why we always wish each other peace and tranquility, health and well-being.

Uzbekistan has always been a stronghold of tolerance, harmony, and friendship. Representatives of different nationalities and peoples living on the same land, drinking water from the same river, sharing happiness and sorrow, have coexisted side by side for centuries. No wonder that such expressions as “Tolerant Uzbekistan!” and “Generous Uzbek people” have appeared.

In a multinational and multi-confessional state, interethnic consensus and interfaith harmony are crucial factors that lay a solid foundation for stability and development, ultimately determining its prospects.

Today, one of the main factors in the rapid development of Uzbekistan, the fruitfulness of reforms, and the steady growth of the people’s well-being is that in our country, representatives of more than 130 nationalities and peoples, as well as 16 religious confessions, live as a united and friendly family.

According to our Constitution, the Republic of Uzbekistan is committed to maintaining a respectful attitude towards the languages, customs, and traditions of the nationalities and peoples residing on its territory, and to creating conditions for their development.

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev considers the ethnic diversity that has existed on the land of our country since ancient times a unique social phenomenon and pays special attention to the preservation and further strengthening of harmony among nationalities, peoples, and faiths. As a result of the policy pursued by the Head of our State, based on the principles of wisdom, humanism, and justice, national unity is growing stronger in our country, and our precious and beloved Motherland is literally becoming a place of peace, friendship, and mutual respect, where human dignity and happiness reign.

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized in his speech at a meeting with deputies of the chambers of the Oliy Majlis, representatives of political parties, and the public on May 8, 2023: “Our main wealth is our great multinational people, who consider Uzbekistan their only Motherland. The highest duty of each of us is to carefully preserve, like the apple of our eye, the priceless treasure – interethnic friendship and harmony that has taken hold in our beloved country”.

Indeed, in New Uzbekistan, interethnic and interfaith harmony, as well as mutual understanding based on loyalty to the spiritual heritage of ancestors, educating the younger generation in the spirit of tolerance, respect for national and universal values, and patriotism, have become one of the most important priorities of state policy.

With the initiation of large-scale reforms in all spheres of public life by the Head of our State, significant changes have also begun in the areas of interethnic and interfaith relations. After all, in our country, multinationality is not just a number, but a strategic asset of the country.

In this sense, the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On measures to bring to a new stage the strengthening of national harmony and relations with compatriots abroad”, adopted on March 19, 2025, and the Resolution “On measures to effectively organize the activities of the Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Interethnic Relations and Compatriots Abroad” bring work in this direction to a qualitatively new level.

In accordance with these documents, the Committee on Interethnic Relations and Compatriots Abroad of the Republic of Uzbekistan was created based on the Committee on Interethnic Relations and Friendly Cooperation with Foreign Countries under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The main tasks of the Committee were defined as the harmonization of interethnic relations, strengthening friendship, harmony, tolerance and unity in society, the formation of a single civil identity, strengthening the involvement of all nationalities and ethnic groups in national development, promoting the preservation of the national identity of compatriots abroad and mobilizing their social and economic potential for the development of our homeland, as well as promoting the prevention and identification of factors that negatively affect interethnic harmony.

Also, the order to develop and submit draft concepts of state policy in the field of ensuring national unity and concepts of state policy in the field of relations with compatriots abroad indicates that work in this direction will be consistently continued.

Currently, several works are being implemented based on these documents.  First of all, as an important area of ​​national unity, special attention is paid to the issues of preserving the culture, language, customs, values ​​, and traditions of various nationalities and peoples living in Uzbekistan, and passing them on to the younger generation.

As is known, the role of national cultural centers is vital in the systematic implementation of work in this direction. Today, there are 157 national cultural centers in our country. The state constantly supports its activities. At the initiative of our President, since 2021, state subsidies have been allocated for the maintenance of these centers and the holding of various events by them. 

Over the past four years, approximately 5.5 billion UZS has been allocated to 14 national cultural centers at the republican level. In 2025, it is planned to allocate 6.6 billion UZS to national cultural centers operating in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, as well as in the regions, the city of Tashkent, districts, and towns.

In addition, almost all national cultural centers have been allocated premises in the “Houses of Friendship” organized in the regions, which they use absolutely free of charge.

At the Committee on Interethnic Relations, located in the center of Tashkent, all conditions have been created for the free and unimpeded work of 27 national cultural centers at the republican and city levels.

In particular, the construction of the Pavilion of National Cultural Centers near the building of the Committee on Interethnic Relations is a unique symbol of interethnic friendship, and the construction of national houses in it, characteristic of 22 nationalities, became a great gift from the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to national cultural centers. This pavilion can be safely described as a town of interethnic friendship.

As is known, since July 30, 2021, is widely celebrated in our country as the Day of Peoples’ Friendship. This year, in honor of this holiday, the Friendship Festival was held throughout the country from July 25 to 31. As part of the festival, a grand opening of the pavilion of national cultural centers took place under the slogan “Uzbekistan is our united Motherland!”

The event was attended by members of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis and deputies of the Legislative Chamber, representatives of ministries and agencies, the public, and the media, guests from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and China, as well as heads and employees of diplomatic missions of 30 states and international organizations in Uzbekistan. 

The participants of the event noted that the construction of this pavilion is a unique event that opens up another excellent opportunity for the nationalities and peoples living in Uzbekistan to preserve and develop their culture, customs and traditions, fully reflects the large-scale reforms carried out in our country in the field of interethnic harmony and national unity, and serves as a platform for mutual cultural exchange.

Akiko Fujii, UNDP Resident Representative in Uzbekistan, who participated in the event, noted that she highly appreciates the respect and attention to various peoples and cultures in Uzbekistan. She considers the opening of the pavilion of national cultural centers to be a truly attentive gesture and a progressive idea.

Many of our compatriots of different nationalities, with their conscientious work and patriotism, make a worthy contribution to strengthening the economic potential of our Motherland. They work conscientiously in various responsible positions in state and public organizations, sparing no effort and energy, making a worthy contribution to strengthening the atmosphere of interethnic harmony and tolerance in our country. Every year on the Day of People’s Friendship, it has become a good tradition to award a group of such compatriots with the “People’s Friendship” badge.

This year, the People’s Friendship badge was awarded to about 50 of our compatriots – representatives of state and public organizations, national cultural centers and religious confessions, as well as non-governmental non-profit organizations that have made special contributions to ensuring national harmony, friendship and cohesion between the peoples of our country.

Of course, we believe that these compatriots will continue to be ambassadors of interethnic harmony and tolerance and, to the best of their ability, will work even more selflessly to strengthen the atmosphere of unity and peace in our country.

At the initiative of our President, special attention is paid to close cooperation with compatriots living abroad. One of such projects is the Uz Global Think Forum. This project is being implemented as an ongoing dialogue between compatriots living abroad – representatives of expert and scientific circles – to create business platforms and exchange opinions on issues such as socio-economic development, environmental sustainability, and quality education. 

A project for the publication “Who Is Who” is also being prepared, which will publish articles about outstanding representatives of the academic world, their life path, successes, and recommendations that will serve the development of the New Uzbekistan. 

In addition, to further increase the contribution of compatriots abroad to the economic power of the new Uzbekistan, following the example of the UNDP program “Transfer of Knowledge through Expatriate Nationals”, a transfer of human capital is being implemented, which will contribute to ensuring innovative socio-economic development and environmental sustainability.

The “Graduates from Uzbekistan” program is being developed, which will unite and support compatriots who graduated from foreign educational institutions and live and work in these countries.

All these tasks set by our President serve to develop Uzbekistan through the participation of compatriots abroad.

One of the most essential human freedoms is undoubtedly freedom of conscience. The adoption in 2021 of the new version of the Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations” was another important step towards institutional strengthening of freedom of religion. This law further strengthened the principles of tolerance and created a solid legal basis for the activities of all faiths.

Currently, there are 2,373 religious organizations in Uzbekistan, of which 2,174 are Islamic and 199 are non-Islamic. Over the past eight years, 130 religious organizations have been registered across the country, including 3 higher and 1 secondary specialized Islamic educational institution, 105 mosques, and 25 non-Islamic religious organizations of various denominations. This is a practical confirmation of respect for all faiths.

At the same time, we have every reason to state that the adoption on February 25 of this year of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On the Approval of the Concept for Ensuring Freedom of Conscience of Citizens and State Policy in the Religious Sphere in the Republic of Uzbekistan” has become a most significant event in the life of society.

This year, on September 10-13, the Second International Forum “Dialogue of Declarations” will be held in Tashkent and Samarkand.

In May 2022, the first “Dialogue of Declarations” forum was held in Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara. Leading scientists from several foreign countries, as well as representatives of local authorities and religious organizations, took part in the forum. The Bukhara Declaration, adopted following that conference, was subsequently recognized as an official document at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly. This confirms the importance of the Uzbek model in fostering a tolerant society comprising people of diverse nationalities, religions, and beliefs.

The regular holding of the forum “Dialogue of Declarations” and the participation of influential foreign and international participants in it testify to the high recognition in the world of Uzbekistan’s policy aimed at ensuring freedom of religion and interfaith harmony. In addition, the Second Forum confirms Uzbekistan’s commitment to the principle of openness, development of an atmosphere of religious magnanimity and tolerance, and to bringing interfaith dialogue to a higher level of values. We are also convinced that this conference will serve as a unique platform for the exchange of best practices in ensuring the peaceful coexistence of people and representatives of different faiths.

I would like to conclude the article with the following words from the festive greetings of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the occasion of July 30 – Peoples’ Friendship Day:     “In the current extremely dangerous situation, when various conflicts on national and religious grounds continue in different regions of the world, we will continue to work to strengthen our most incredible wealth – peace and stability, an atmosphere of mutual respect and harmony in our country – based on the idea of ​​​​a united Uzbekistan, educating young people as holders of national and universal values, knowledge, professions, deepening the principles of inclusiveness.

We are mobilizing all our forces and capabilities for the reliable protection of the rights and interests of representatives of all nationalities and faiths who are proud to be citizens of Uzbekistan, as well as our compatriots abroad, everywhere, in accordance with the requirements of our Constitution and laws”.

                                Kakhramon Sariev,

Chairman of the Committee on Interethnic Relations and Compatriots Abroad of the Republic of Uzbekistan