Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The consultative meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia in the Turkmen Avaza, on 6 August 2021, can be confidently called a landmark event.

Firstly, this is the first face-to-face meeting of the presidents of the countries of the region during a pandemic and a very difficult situation in Afghanistan.

Secondly, a thorough preparation of the program of the upcoming multilateral summit was carried out and, as a result, very serious, burning issues of regional cooperation and security were considered.

Thirdly, the heads of state of the region expressed their firm intention to further deepen mutual cooperation in order to preserve and promote the region-wide cultural and scientific achievements of Central Asia, to encourage the spread of knowledge about a common history, cultural heritage that unites the peoples of Central Asian countries.

The proposals of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the transition of cultural cooperation between the countries of the region into the format of regular and systemic relationships are not accidental, but the result of a thorough analysis of the historical and cultural potential of Central Asia and its development in today’s conditions.

The uniqueness of our region lies in its common historical and cultural space, which has had a tremendous impact on the development of world civilization.

According to many orientalists, Central Asia was a special node of ethnogenetic processes. Tribes and peoples here arose, disappeared and re-emerged in a new quality.

These connections and processes were diverse and multidirectional, yielding unequal results in different parts of Central Asia. But the main thing is that it was a special center, a special zone of ethnogenesis, as well as various cultural, economic, political, ideological ties. This means that the states of the region have a whole range of cultural and civilizational prerequisites for integration, which can be used as the basis for regional multilateral interaction.

Therefore, the formation of a modern multipolar world and the development of a broad intercultural dialogue put on the agenda the urgent issue of spreading cultural standards, preserving ethnocultural heritage, close interaction between states, incl. organizing festivals of friendship, music, Days of Culture and Cinema, joint publishing of books, etc.

The centuries-old experience of history makes it possible for the Central Asian region to position itself as the most suitable platform for such a dialogue.

There is one more important aspect in the actualization of this process by the Leader of our state. Various festivals, Days of Culture and Cinema, as well as other mass, folk events of the original cultural heritage and, at the same time, the rich diversity of the countries of the region, bring the “people’s diplomacy” of Central Asia to a qualitatively new level, i.e. establishment and development of direct partnerships between cultural and scientific institutions, industrial and agricultural collectives, public organizations of our countries.

Moreover, at present, civil (people’s) diplomacy is becoming a full-fledged factor in the world political process and the development of international relations can no longer be determined solely by the activities of international and state bodies without broad reliance on public forces. Cooperation in the field of book publishing, book distribution and printing plays an important role in the formation of the system of values that determine the cultural, spiritual and moral guidelines of the peoples of our region.

In this regard, Tashkent’s initiative to jointly publish books dedicated to the masterpieces of the cultural heritage of Central Asia is timely and in demand.

The archives and libraries of the countries of the region contain numerous unique manuscripts and other monuments of the written culture of our peoples.

On the basis of a joint study of these manuscripts and artifacts, it is possible to widely popularize the rich cultural heritage of our region among domestic and foreign audiences. Moreover, Uzbekistan already has experience in publishing a series of book-albums - masterpieces of written monuments of the East.

The project "Cultural heritage of Uzbekistan in the world’s gatherings", being implemented today in Uzbekistan, is a vivid example of the consolidation of public, state, international organizations and business in the implementation of the initiatives of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in the preservation, study and popularization of the country’s cultural heritage.

The results of the last summit of the heads of state of Central Asia showed that in our countries the understanding of the need for integration in key areas of development is becoming more and more solid.

It is impossible to separate the historical, cultural and civilizational heritage of the region. This property belongs equally to the entire population of the Central Asian cultural and civilizational space. And as the great writer Chingiz Aitmatov noted:

"Historical community, linguistic similarity, the presence of common traditions, customs give us innumerable opportunities to be together and together build a new world, a single civilizational community."

Sabirov Alisher, Head of Department, International Institute of Central Asia