Ambassador of Uzbekistan presents the Order of Dustlik to the President of the Turkestan-American Association

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 15 December 2018, Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to the United States Javlon Vakhabov presented a high state award - the Dustlik Order – to the President of the Turkestan-American Association Abdulla Khoja, the Public and Media Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan said.

On 11 December, President of Uzbekistan signed a decree on awarding Abdulla Khoja with the Order of Dustlik for selfless work in preserving national values and traditions, uniting compatriots in the United States, and strengthening friendship between the peoples of Uzbekistan and the United States of America.

The Turkestan-American Association was formed in Philadelphia in 1958 as the first and full-fledged non-governmental organization representing the interests of immigrants from the Central Asian region in the United States and assisting in their successful integration into American society.

Its activities are aimed at assisting and supporting representatives of the peoples of Central Asia in the United States, preserving through the organization of cultural, educational and charitable activities of their native language, identity, cultural heritage and national traditions. Currently, more than 80 percent of the members of the association are our compatriots living in the United States and Canada.

Association President Abdulla Khoja is a US citizen. His father is from Uzbekistan. At the beginning of the 20th century, due to political changes in Turkestan, he first moved to Afghanistan and then to the USA.