TEHRAN (Iran News) – On September 23, 2020, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev made a report in his 75th General Assembly of the United Nations speech. During his speech, he put forward a number of important international initiatives on the need to develop and to adopt an International Code on voluntary commitments of states during a pandemic, to increase attention to the global problem of poverty, to adopt a special resolution of the UN General Assembly on declaring the Aral Sea region as a zone of environmental innovations, technologies, etc.

It should be noted that in his report, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan also focused on the holding, together with UNESCO, the International Forum “Central Asia at the Crossroads of World Civilizations” in the city of Khiva in 2021.

The historical city of Khiva, located in the Khorezm region and one of the main pearls of modern Uzbekistan, has almost completely retained its historical appearance. The rich heritage that has survived to this day makes this city one of the most interesting cities in Uzbekistan and Central Asia.

“Ichan Kala”, the inner fortress city of Khiva, was the first World Heritage Site in Uzbekistan, included in the UNESCO list in 1990. “Ichan-Kala” is the largest surviving fortified city in Central Asia.

Therefore, the city of Khiva was not accidentally proposed by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sh.M.Mirziyoyev as the venue for the International Forum “Central Asia at the Crossroads of World Civilizations” in 2021.

By the way, many Iranians are well aware that in one of the historical cities of Uzbekistan, in Khiva, there is the famous architectural complex of the Pakhlavan Mahmud mausoleum, which is widely known in Iran as “Pourya-ye Vali”. Many athletes from Iran, especially wrestlers, greatly respect the personality of Pakhlavan Mahmud as their spiritual mentor.

It is noteworthy that in June 2019, the famous Iranian athlete-hero Reza Gheitasi and the filming crew of the Iranian TV channel “Shoma” took part in the First International Tournament “Games of Heroes”, which was held in the ancient city of Khiva.

The prepared documentaries were widely shown on such Iranian TV channels as “Shoma”, “Sports News”, “Jam-e Jam”, “Mostanad” and others.

As you know, Uzbekistan is rich in historical architectural masterpieces and centuries-old traditions. On its territory are located some of the most ancient cities on the planet, some of which are more than 2.7 thousand years old. The surviving monuments are of value not only for the Uzbek people, but also for all mankind as a whole.

On the territory of Uzbekistan, there are 8208 immovable objects of material cultural heritage, of which 4748 are archeological monuments, 2250 architectural monuments, 678 monuments of monumental art and 532 sights.

Currently, the UNESCO World Heritage List included four material objects – the historical centers of Khiva, Bukhara, Samarkand and Shakhrisabz. More than 30 properties are in the process of being included in this list.

Since time immemorial, Central Asia has been a place of historical meetings and spiritual enrichment of different peoples, cultures and religions.

Due to its central role on the Great Silk Road, the region served as an important link in international trade, cultural, scientific and intellectual exchange.

The peoples of the region play an important role as a connecting link between Asia and Europe, which contributed to the spread of letter writing and world religions, technical achievements, dialogue between the civilizations of the East and West.

The scale of the contribution of the peoples who lived and worked in Central Asia is still not fully studied.

In the popularization of this huge civilization contribution of Central Asia to the development of world culture and science, a special role belongs to Uzbekistan, which is the heart of Central Asia in geographical, cultural, historical and spiritual terms.

Realizing the commonality of history, cultures and traditions, as well as the indivisibility of security, from the first years of independence, Uzbekistan played a key, positive and responsible role in matters of interethnic relations in Central Asia.

Strengthening cultural, humanitarian and spiritual ties is one of the most important factors in the implementation of the new regional course of Uzbekistan in Central Asia, carried out under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

On his initiative, a number of important projects are being implemented in this country on conservation, scientific research, popularization and rational use of objects of material cultural heritage. These initiatives find the full support of the international community. Indeed ancient monuments with a long history testify that the cities of Uzbekistan have been the cradle of science and culture since ancient times.

The careful preservation of this heritage for future generations requires high responsibility from all, as it is the property of not only the peoples of the region, but also of all mankind.

The initiative of President Sh. M. Mirziyoyev to hold, jointly with UNESCO the International Forum “Central Asia at the Crossroads of World Civilizations” in Khiva in 2021,  which received the support of the wider world community, will be another significant event in the popularization of the huge Islamic historical heritage of the large region of Central Asia.

In general, the initiative to hold the International Forum “Central Asia at the Crossroads of World Civilizations” will also allow:

– to further strengthen among the public of the countries of the region a sense of belonging to a single region called “Central Asia”, which is an important factor in the development of good-neighborly interstate relations;

– to reiterate the huge contribution of the peoples of Uzbekistan and other countries of Central Asia to the development of world civilization;

– to increase the interest of the international scientific community in the study of the scientific and intellectual heritage of the peoples of Central Asia.