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TASHKENT. July 29 this year the capital of the Republic of Uzbekistan hosted the International Conference “The Role of Public Diplomacy in Strengthening Friendship among Peoples”. The Eurasian Peoples' Assembly was represented by the First Deputy Secretary General - Head of the General Secretariat of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, member of the Presidential Council of the Russian Federation for Interethnic Relations Svetlana Smirnova.
The event was organized by the Committee on Interethnic Relations and Friendly Relations with Foreign Countries of the Republic of Uzbekistan as part of the celebration of the Peoples' Friendship Day and the Friendship Festival.
In her speech Svetlana Smirnova emphasized that the concept of "friendship" in whatever languages it is pronounced, in whatever proverbs and sayings it is used, equally reveals the beauty and importance of true friendship, is the greatest moral measure and value:
“In every nation's culture you can find proverbs, songs and poems that talk about what true friendship is and what true friends are like. "Friendship and brotherhood are more important than wealth", "Strong friendship cannot be spilled with water" - in Russian. In Indian: "In happiness, friendship is used; in trouble, it is tested." And in Uzbek: "Without a friend, my head is like food without salt." Thus, in different languages proverbs about friendship equally reveal the beauty and importance of true friendship, and contribute to the formation of good relationships between people.
The First Deputy Secretary General of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly noted that the greatest wealth of any country is peace, unity and harmony between peoples, and in this regard, Uzbekistan is an amazingly rich country:
“Peoples’ living Uzbekistan represent a whole palette of races, historical roots, cultural and religious traditions. All of them are connected by a common culture, traditions, customs, mutual respect, centuries-old friendship <...> Uzbekistan is unique as a country actively promoting economic reforms, preserving interethnic peace and harmony, and carefully revering the historical and cultural traditions of peoples.”
In her speech, Svetlana Smirnova paid special attention to the content of the article by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, published on the eve of the Samarkand SCO Summit, where he noted “significant failures” in the modern system of international cooperation based on universal principles and norms. One of the main reasons for this, he called "a deep crisis of confidence at the global level."
In this regard, the speaker emphasized that public diplomacy is becoming an important resource in the development of international dialogue and cooperation:
“Informal actions of “people’s diplomats”, joint negotiations, dialogues and discussion of common problems and options for their solutions, appeal to the general public and the media, concentration of civil society resources to solve specific problems - these factors of multilateral “people’s diplomacy” contribute to the establishment of more harmonious and stable relations between states and peoples. The task of expanding the potential of public diplomacy in strengthening intercultural dialogue, friendship and harmony among peoples is of particular relevance on the Eurasian continent, the largest in terms of area and population.”
Today, the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, being the engine of public diplomacy, builds relations between people, civil societies, nations and civilizations based on a combination of national and universal values, norms, rules, traditions, interests and goals.
“The creation of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly has become a powerful impetus to the solidarity of peoples. This is the future that is being born today. Three-quarters of the planet's population lives on 54 million square kilometers of Eurasia. Eurasia and the peoples living here are the cradle of human civilization. From here came modern culture, its material and spiritual values. Eurasia is the birthplace of world religions (Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam). And the world economy also stands on the economic power of the countries of Europe and Asia. But the main wealth of Eurasia lies in the diversity and uniqueness of the cultures of its peoples, in the basic spiritual and moral values common to all mankind, in the common desire for peace for all peoples,” Svetlana Smirnova noted.
Today, members of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly are representatives of non-governmental organizations from more than 50 countries. The current task of the Assembly is to generalize and broadcast the experience of the institutions of public diplomacy of the Eurasian countries in order to expand and deepen ties between peoples in modern conditions.
In 2022, in honor of its 5th anniversary, the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly held in Moscow, in the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, the International Forum of People's Diplomacy. More than 500 representatives of public organizations, business, science, culture, sports, media, government, political and public figures took part in the forum.
The agenda of the forum included issues of popularization and further development of public diplomacy through innovative approaches and modern mechanisms of cultural, humanitarian, scientific, educational and business cooperation.
June 30 this year in the mansion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, a solemn opening ceremony of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization National Center for People's Diplomacy in Russia was held with the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, the Secretary General of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly Andrey Belyaninov and representatives of the diplomatic missions of 18 SCO countries in Moscow (member states, observers and dialogue partners): Armenia, Bahrain, Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Qatar, China, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka.
The National Center for Public Diplomacy of the SCO in Russia was established with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation at the initiative of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly to expand humanitarian and business partnerships with the SCO countries.
The Eurasian Peoples' Assembly is a partner of the International Competition "LEADER OF PEOPLE'S DIPLOMACY". Representatives of the non-profit sector from 34 regions of Russia and 23 countries, including Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Romania, Moldova, France, Canada, Italy, Mexico, India, Saudi Arabia, Georgia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Israel, Serbia, Syria, etc. became the participants of the International Competition in 2022. The Organizing Committee of the competition is also international. The official language of the competition is Russian. The winners were announced on December 8, 2022 in Perm as part of the Perm Open Peoples' Friendship Forum and the IX All-Russian Forum of National Unity. The participants of the Competition have created a community, and we see their active work for the benefit of friendship and cooperation.
“We are very grateful for the support and active assistance in holding the Competition to the SCO Public Diplomacy Center in Uzbekistan and personally to its director Kabuljon Kasimovich Sabirov. Despite his busy schedule, he took part in the educational track as an expert, acted as a member of the international Jury and is an active promoter of the Competition. Several representatives of Uzbekistan took part in the First Competition. Jamalov Fazliddin Oybekovich, a student of the Tashkent University of World Economy and Diplomacy, became the laureate of the second degree,” said the First Deputy Secretary General of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly.
As part of the LEADER OF PEOPLE'S DIPLOMACY competition, this year International Round Tables are being held in a number of countries participating in the project - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and, of course, Uzbekistan.
“We express our heartfelt gratitude to the SCO Public Diplomacy Center and Kabuljon Kasimovich Sabirov for the warm welcome and holding the round table,” Svetlana Smirnova warmly thanked once again.
In June, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Second Competition "LEADER OF PEOPLE'S DIPLOMACY" was launched.
“We invite compatriots living abroad and foreign citizens - representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Internet communities implementing projects in public diplomacy to participate,” the speaker addressed all the conference participants, “In order to preserve the Eurasian continent in all the diversity of its natural, spiritual, cultural and historical treasures and to create safe and comfortable living conditions for all peoples, it is necessary to strengthen centuries-old friendship. It is necessary to intensify the exchange of experience in the sphere of governance, deepen cultural and humanitarian ties, strengthen the foundation of centuries-old friendship between peoples, and jointly form a community of friendship and unanimity.”
Svetlana Smirnova expressed hope that people's diplomacy would be able to prove its viability and activity against the backdrop of joint events and projects, and direct participation in events would help people from different countries learn more about each other's culture, needs and views, find common interests and raise the level of mutual understanding and trust during joint practical and creative work:
“I hope that public organizations in different countries will jointly create conditions for intensifying contacts to promote the great cause of bringing peoples closer together. We are all moving towards the same goal - not only the preservation but also the development of humanity.”
Svetlana Konstantinovna completed her speech with the words of the Uzbek poet, thinker and statesman Alisher Navoi:
“Understand the people of the whole earth: enmity is a bad thing,
Live in friendship among yourselves - there is no better destiny.
The celebration of Friendship Day, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 2011, aims to promote dialogue among civilizations, solidarity, mutual understanding and reconciliation. In Uzbekistan, at the initiative of the head of state, July 30 is celebrated as the Day of Peoples’ Friendship.
