UZBEKISTAN – LAND OF TOLERANCE AND UNITY

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If the greatest blessing given to humanity is life itself, then the highest aspiration pursued by humankind has always been peace and harmony. This is why we constantly wish each other peace of mind, health, and safety.

Uzbekistan has long been a land of tolerance, solidarity, and mutual harmony. For centuries, representatives of various nationalities and ethnic groups, sharing the same land, water, celebrations, and traditions, have lived together in unity. Expressions such as “Tolerant Uzbekistan” and “The tolerant Uzbek people” did not arise by chance.

In a multiethnic and multireligious state, interethnic harmony and interfaith cooperation are key factors that ensure stability, development, and a solid foundation for the future.

Today, one of the main reasons why our country is rapidly developing, reforms are bearing fruit, and the welfare of the people is steadily improving lies in the fact that representatives of more than 130 nationalities and ethnic groups, along with 16 religious confessions, live together as a single, united people of Uzbekistan.

Our Constitution guarantees respect for the languages, customs, and traditions of all nationalities and ethnic groups residing in Uzbekistan and creates conditions for their development. This forms the constitutional basis for reforms in this area.

Currently, education in schools is provided in seven languages, enabling students of different nationalities to study in their mother tongue. National television and radio broadcast in 12 languages, while newspapers and journals are published in 14 languages, allowing everyone to access information in their native language on equal terms.

Representatives of various nationalities and ethnic groups living in our country make significant contributions to Uzbekistan’s development through their active and dedicated work. Nearly 5,000 representatives of more than 35 nationalities are employed in the civil service alone.

In particular, representatives of different nationalities make up 12.7 percent of deputies in the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis (Parliament) and 11.2 percent in local councils. Such achievements have no boundaries, as interethnic harmony and unity manifest themselves in every sphere of society.

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has consistently emphasized that the ethnic diversity that has existed in our land since ancient times is a unique social phenomenon. He pays special attention to preserving and strengthening harmony among nationalities, ethnic groups, and confessions. Thanks to his wise policy, based on principles of wisdom, humanism, and justice, nationwide unity has been further strengthened, and our homeland—sacred to us all—is becoming a land of peace, friendship, and compassion, where human dignity and happiness are honored.

As President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stressed in his speech on May 8, 2023, at a meeting with members of parliament, political parties, and public representatives:
“Our greatest wealth is our great multinational people who consider Uzbekistan their only homeland. The interethnic friendship and harmony established in our beloved country is our priceless treasure, which we must all protect as the apple of our eye.”

Indeed, in New Uzbekistan, interethnic and interfaith harmony, mutual understanding, and educating the younger generation in tolerance, respect for national and universal values, and patriotism have become one of the most important priorities of state policy.

At the initiative of the Head of State, large-scale reforms in all areas of society have also brought new approaches and initiatives to interethnic and interfaith relations.

In this context, the Presidential Decree of March 2025, “On Measures to Take National Unity and Relations with Compatriots Abroad to a New Stage”, and the Resolution “On Measures to Effectively Organize the Activities of the Committee on Interethnic Relations and Relations with Compatriots Abroad of the Republic of Uzbekistan” have elevated work in this area to an entirely new qualitative level.

In accordance with these documents, the Committee on Interethnic Relations and Friendship with Foreign Countries under the Ministry of Culture was reorganized into the Committee on Interethnic Relations and Compatriots Abroad.

The Committee’s main tasks include: promoting interethnic harmony, strengthening friendship, unity, tolerance, and solidarity in society, forming a single civic identity, enhancing the involvement of all ethnic groups in national development, assisting compatriots abroad in preserving their national identity and mobilizing their socio-economic potential for the development of the Motherland, as well as identifying and preventing factors that negatively affect interethnic harmony.

Moreover, the drafting of state policy concepts on ensuring nationwide unity and strengthening ties with compatriots abroad demonstrates that work in this area will continue consistently.

Special attention is paid to preserving and transmitting to younger generations the culture, languages, traditions, values, and customs of all nationalities living in Uzbekistan as an important element of nationwide harmony.

As is well known, national cultural centers play an important role in carrying out systematic work in this direction. Today, 157 national cultural centers operate in our country. Their activities are constantly supported by the state. Since 2021, state subsidies have been allocated to enable these centers to operate, organize events to promote their culture, language, customs, values, and traditions.

“Friendship Houses” across the regions provide premises free of charge for their activities. In the headquarters of the Committee on Interethnic Relations, located in the center of Tashkent, all necessary conditions have been created for 27 national cultural centers operating at the republican and Tashkent city level.

Especially noteworthy is the construction in July this year of a Pavilion of National Cultural Centers—considered a unique symbol of nationwide unity—near the Committee’s headquarters. Featuring 22 houses representing different national cultures, this pavilion became a great gift from the President to the national cultural centers. Without hesitation, we can call this pavilion a true “House of Nationwide Unity.”

On the occasion of the Day of Friendship of Peoples, celebrated on July 30, the “Friendship” festival, held nationwide on July 25–31, also marked the opening ceremony of this pavilion.

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

Participants described the pavilion as a unique phenomenon that opened new opportunities for preserving and developing the culture and traditions of different nationalities living in Uzbekistan, fully reflected the large-scale reforms being carried out in the field of interethnic harmony and national unity, and would serve as a platform for cultural exchange.

Akiko Fuji, Permanent Representative of the UN Development Programme in Uzbekistan, noted that she highly values the respect and attention shown to representatives of different nationalities and ethnic groups in Uzbekistan, and that the opening of the pavilion of national cultural centers is a truly humane and progressive idea.

Thanks to the President’s firm political will, special attention is also paid to working closely with compatriots living abroad. One such initiative is the “Uz Global Think” forum, which serves as a permanent dialogue platform among experts and academics from the Uzbek diaspora abroad. The forum facilitates the exchange of views on creating business platforms, socio-economic development, environmental sustainability, and quality education.

In addition, a platform is being developed for academic members of the diaspora to share their life experiences, achievements, and recommendations that contribute to the development of New Uzbekistan.

Furthermore, based on the UNDP program “Knowledge Transfer through Diaspora,” efforts are underway to enhance the contribution of compatriots abroad to the economic strength of New Uzbekistan by transferring human capital that supports innovative socio-economic development and environmental sustainability.

The “Uzbek Graduates” program is also being developed to unite and support compatriots who graduated from foreign universities and currently live and work abroad.

All these initiatives involving compatriots abroad will contribute to further development of Uzbekistan.

Undoubtedly, one of the most fundamental human freedoms is freedom of conscience. The adoption of the new edition of the Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations” in 2021 was another important step in strengthening freedom of conscience institutionally in our country. This law further consolidated the principles of tolerance and a stable legal framework for the activities of all confessions.

Today, 2,361 religious organizations belonging to 16 confessions operate freely in Uzbekistan. Among them are 2,164 Islamic organizations, 197 non-Islamic organizations, including 180 Christian, 8 Jewish, 7 Baha’i organizations, as well as a Buddhist temple, a Krishnaite center, and an interfaith Bible society. Between 2017 and 2024 alone, 108 new religious organizations were registered, new mosques, Christian churches, and temples were built, and existing ones were renovated. This is practical proof of respect for all confessions.

Moreover, the adoption on February 25 this year of the Law “On the Concept of Ensuring Freedom of Conscience and State Policy in the Religious Sphere in the Republic of Uzbekistan” was a major milestone in our public life.

The Concept serves the multinational and multiconfessional people of Uzbekistan by ensuring their peaceful coexistence on the basis of equality, social justice, and unity, while realizing the common interests of society.

On September 10–13 this year, the Second International Forum “Dialogue of Declarations” was held in Tashkent and Samarkand.

The first forum, held in May 2022 in Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara, gathered leading scholars from several foreign countries, along with representatives of local state agencies and religious organizations. The Bukhara Declaration adopted at that forum was later recognized as an official document at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly. This confirms the importance of Uzbekistan’s model of building a tolerant society composed of representatives of different nationalities, religions, and beliefs.

The regular holding of the “Dialogue of Declarations” forum and the participation of prestigious international organizations and experts demonstrate the global recognition of Uzbekistan’s policies aimed at ensuring freedom of belief and interfaith harmony. Furthermore, the second forum reaffirmed Uzbekistan’s commitment to openness, to promoting an environment of religious tolerance, and to elevating interfaith dialogue to a higher level of value. We believe this forum will also serve as a platform for sharing advanced experiences in ensuring peaceful coexistence among peoples and confessions.

I would like to conclude this article with the following words of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, delivered in his congratulatory message on the occasion of the Day of Friendship of Peoples on July 30:

“In today’s highly turbulent world, where various conflicts based on national and religious grounds continue in different regions, under the idea of a united Uzbekistan, we will consistently continue our efforts to further strengthen the greatest wealth of our country—peace and stability, mutual respect and harmony. We will raise our youth in the spirit of national and universal values, knowledge, enlightenment, and professional skills, while deepening the principles of inclusiveness. We will mobilize all our strength and resources to strictly protect the rights and interests of representatives of all nationalities and confessions, as well as compatriots abroad, wherever they may be, based on the requirements of our Constitution and laws.”

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