Tatarstan President meets representatives of Tatar Diaspora living in Uzbekistan

On September 24, in the afternoon, during his working visit to Uzbekistan, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov, who arrived in Tashkent, was met by Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Gulomzhon Ibragimov and Ambassador of Russia to Uzbekistan Vladimir Tyurdenev at the airport.

Upon his arrival in Tashkent, Minnikhanov met representatives of Tatar public organizations of Uzbekistan at the the Alisher Navoiy Opera and Ballet Theatre. Minister of Culture of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Sayfullaev, Ambassador of Russia to Uzbekistan Vladimir Tyurdenev, Deputy Prime Minister of Tatarstan, Chairman of the Milli Shura National Council Vasil Shaikhraziev, Aide to Tatarstan President Radik Gimatdinov, Chairman of the World Tatar Congress Executive Committee Rinat Zakirov, representatives of ministries of Tatarstan took part in the meeting.

Opening the meeting, Chairman of the Tatar Public Cultural and Educational Centre of Tashkent Rishat Nabiullin said that the country is home to 280,000 Tatars, more than 100,000 of them live in the capital of Uzbekistan.

He noted that the cultural and educational centre has been operating since 1990 and is one of the most active national cultural centres of Uzbekistan. "We hold various holidays, actively involve young people in these activities. We have complete mutual understanding with the country’s leadership. In Uzbekistan, all necessary conditions have been created for comfortable life of Tatars, preserving our culture, traditions and customs," Nabiullin said.

According to him, the local Tatar community is ready to actively interact with Tatarstan in the trade and economic sphere. In particular, we are interested in supplying agricultural products to the republic, he said. "We have an excellent climate for farming. The season lasts eleven months a year. Moreover, our agricultural products are one of the best in the world," Nabiullin stressed.

Minnikhanov gave an errand to consider the possibility of delivering vegetables and fruits from Uzbekistan to Tatarstan for sale at the regional agro-markets. “ Apart from  trade deals, we should actively develop our relations in the sphere of tourism and education. There is also a great potential for cooperation in the IT industry,"  he said.

Speaking at the meeting, local Tatars asked Tatarstan President to assist them in organizing tours of Tatar theatres and national ensembles to Uzbekistan.

In his turn, Minnikhanov noted that the Tatar Diaspora in Uzbekistan is one of the largest in the world. "We always try to meet Tatars living in various Russian regions and abroad to communicate with them, find out their concerns, help them in solving certain issues," he said.

He thanked the representatives of the Tatar community for great attention they pay to the preservation of their native language and traditions. "This is a very important mission. We must remember our history, our national customs. But this is possible only if people want this. Therefore, we, first of all, rely on you in this work,” Minnikhanov said.

Tatarstan President also expressed his gratitude to senior officials of Uzbekistan for supporting local Tatars.

Then, Minnikhanov handed in state awards to the representatives of the Tatar community of Uzbekistan for their special contribution to the preservation and development of the culture and traditions of the Tatar people.