An international conference on the 25th anniversary of the Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan Friendship Society and the friendship between the two countries was held in Tashkent.

Azernews reports that on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Friendship Society, the state and government representatives, deputies, the management of the society, the Azerbaijan Cultural Centre and the State Pedagogical University, representatives of the public, and representatives from Azerbaijan attended the conference "On the way to strengthening fraternal relations" organised at Nizami Tashkent State Pedagogical University.

First, the participants of the event got acquainted with the photo exhibition Our Friendship is Eternal organised in the lobby of Tashkent State Pedagogical University named after Nizami. During the past years, the activity of the Friendship Society in the field of expanding friendship and cooperation between the two countries, the events held, and the implemented projects were reflected in the exhibition.

Rector of Tashkent State Pedagogical University named after Nizami, professor Abdugafar Kyrgyzbayev, who opened the event with his opening speech, spoke about the historical friendship between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan and said that these relations have risen to the level of strategic alliance today. He noted that the Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan Friendship Society, which is organised based on the university named after the great Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi, constantly contributes to friendship and cooperation between the two countries, and emphasised that the work and projects carried out by the society in cooperation with the Azerbaijan Cultural Centre named after Heydar Aliyev in Uzbekistan are commendable.

Rustam Gurbanov, the head of the Committee for Inter-National Relations and Friendly Relations with Foreign Countries under the Ministry of Culture of Uzbekistan, emphasised that all nationalities in Uzbekistan develop peacefully with mutual respect, preserving their customs and traditions, and their culture, and that their active participation in public affairs is ensured. Rustam Gurbanov congratulated the leadership of the society on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, noting that the Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan Friendship Society is one of the most active societies of this kind operating in Uzbekistan and that the society has also contributed to the relations between our countries.

Samir Abbasov, the director of the Azerbaijan Cultural Centre named after Heydar Aliyev in Uzbekistan, noted that the relations between the two countries have been brought to a high level as a result of the successful policies of our heads of state, and as a result of the close cooperation of the Cultural Centre under his leadership with the Friendship Society, hundreds of events and projects on friendship and cooperation between the two countries have been held over the past 10 years. noted that it was realised.

Samir Abbasov noted that a true friend is recognised in narrow and difficult times, that the Uzbekistan-Azerbaijani Friendship Society has always been with Azerbaijan during the 30-year occupation of Azerbaijani lands and the 44-day Patriotic War, and made statements condemning the occupation. He also expressed his gratitude and said that the Uzbek people and their state have always supported the cause of Azerbaijan.

Speaking at the event, the executive director of the Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan Friendship Society, Professor Erkin Nuriddinov, gave information about the history of the society's establishment, 25 years of activity, the projects implemented in the strengthening of Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan relations, the establishment of new relations, scientific, literary, and cultural relations, and the work done.

After the speeches, Samir Abbasov presented Erkin Nuriddinova, head of the Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan Friendship Society, with an Azerbaijani carpet with paintings of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

A documentary film about the 25-year activity of the Friendship Society was shown at the event, and poems dedicated to Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, as well as the friendly relations of the two brotherly countries, were sung by the students of Tashkent State Pedagogical University named after Nizami.

In the end, a group of people who have contributed to Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan friendship relations were awarded honorary decrees by the Committee on Inter-National Relations and Friendly Relations with Foreign States under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan Friendship Society, and commemorative gifts were presented to the mentioned institutions by the Heydar Aliyev Azerbaijan Culture Centre in Uzbekistan.