Bakhtiyor Kamildjanovich, in your opinion, why is the decision to open the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Abu Dhabi ripening right now?
The Uzbek consulate in Dubai has existed since 1992, in 1994 its status rose to the consulate general, but the task of opening an embassy at that time was not even set. For more than 14 years, we have been assisting our and foreign citizens in many matters: visa support, legalization of documents and solving other pressing problems. It should be borne in mind that the consulate of the United Arab Emirates in Uzbekistan opened only two years ago, that is, it turns out that for a rather long period, all issues were resolved unilaterally - through us, including official letters, agreements and documents from the Arab side.
If the Emirates opened their consulate general in Uzbekistan at the same time as ours in the UAE, then official representations at the embassy level were already actively functioning. However, as they say, history does not suffer a subjunctive mood, and I think that with the opening of the Uzbek embassy in the UAE, the Emirates will also not take long.
What is the fundamental difference between the kind of activity of the consulate general and the embassy?
There is a clear distinction: the Consulate General is engaged in civil affairs, and the embassy solves economic, political and cultural problems at the international level. Today, the organization of trade or cultural events has to be probed through Abu Dhabi. And in my practice, incidents often happened due to the fact that, referring to the official representatives of a given agency, I had to explain why the Consul General was dealing with such issues. And only after such explanations about the absence of the embassy of Uzbekistan in the country, I already found understanding and assistance in certain matters.
That is, it should be understood that the consulate general, consul or consular officer, is engaged in providing legal assistance to citizens, legalization of documents and visa support - these are the tasks that are called consular actions.
The embassy is responsible for the development of cultural and economic ties, international relations, and establishing contacts in the fields of education, science, healthcare, and tourism. Although the consulate general is also involved in tourism, I have already said that we are responsible for opening and issuing visas.
And how popular is the Emirates - Uzbekistan direction at present?
Firstly, the general flow of tourists in both directions has increased. This can also be seen by the difficulty with which, sometimes in advance, air tickets are purchased. A travel company operating in the Uzbek direction operates in Sharjah, sends local tourists who want to visit the historical places of Central Asia to us. I would call cult tourism the most developed.
Do you mean traveling along the Great Silk Road?
And not only. Arabs seek to visit the historical sites of the great Muslims - scientists, warriors, poets. They choose routes related to ancient Islamic culture, for example, the Amir Temur Museum in Tashkent, historical museums in Kashkadarya region, Bukhara, Khiva. In Samarkand - the mausoleum of Imam al-Bukhari. The school curriculum of Arab children includes the study of the most important and most famous works of al-Bukhari. Imam al-Bukhari left behind many works, the most important and most widespread of which is Aljami as-sahih. In the field of hadith science, he earned the nickname "master of the faithful," which was not disputed by anyone. That is why many faithful seek to go to Uzbekistan to see where this great Islamic leader lived and worked.
Are children's or student tours to Uzbekistan organized from the UAE and vice versa, for example, during school holidays?
No, until such children's tours are organized, it is a huge responsibility that rests with the accompanying persons. It is very difficult to keep track of a group of foreign children in an unfamiliar country with a foreign language. But the idea is good, now we need to somehow convey it to the Arabs.
(At this time, not at all embarrassed to interrupt the conversation of the Consul General with the journalist, a girl in abaya peers into the hall with the question: “Can I pray here?”).
Is there a special prayer room in the consulate general?
No, but when the hall is not busy, visitors pray, we do not refuse. Although, the Qur'an says that if at some time you did not fulfill your prayer, you can transfer it to another time. In this case, the girl simply showed bad manners and lack of culture. Another person would be ashamed to drop in and interrupt the conversation ...
Let's talk about culture then. There is a practice of holding the culture days of your country abroad. Are there any plans to organize the days of culture of Uzbekistan in the UAE?
This is precisely the activity that we spoke about earlier, and this type of activity directly relates to the embassy. Previously, I already dealt with this issue: negotiated, agreed, organized meetings. At the moment, agreement in principle on holding the Days of Culture of Uzbekistan or a thematic photo exhibition has been received. Such events are most conveniently organized in Sharjah. Given that in 1998, Sharjah was recognized by UNESCO as the "Cultural Capital of the Arab World", the government of this emirate is most willing to make contact in addressing such issues. In the days of the holy month of Ramadan in Sharjah there will be a photo exhibition "World Mosques", we would also like to provide our photo exhibits, especially since Uzbekistan has many masterpieces of Muslim architecture, such as the Khast-Imam ensemble from the Barak-Khan madrasah (XVI-XVII centuries, on the foundation of the buildings of the 15th century) and the Al-Bukhari Institute located in it, as well as the Kaffali Shash Mausoleum (15th century). No less interesting are the picturesque mosques of Jami (Juma, XVI century), MirzaYusuf (XIX century), Khayrabat-Eshon (XVIII-XIX centuries) and Sheikh Till mosque on Hast-Imam square.
But the consulate general does not physically have enough time to deal with other issues and manage to fulfill their direct duties. Over the past period, we have had a lot of serious events. For example, in early July, a meeting of the Arab Coordination Group was held in Uzbekistan, and the organization of the trip of delegates from the UAE fell on our shoulders.
What was the purpose of the meeting?
Presentation of various innovative, economic, political projects of Uzbekistan related to joint activities with local audiences. The International Islamic Organization for Education, Science and Culture elected Tashkent the capital of Islamic culture in 2007, the capital of Uzbekistan was awarded this honor for its great services in preserving the Islamic heritage.
In August, an international conference was held in the Uzbek capital on the contribution of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the development of Islamic civilization. Three speakers were delegated from the Emirates, to whom we assisted in all organizational matters.
Let's end our conversation with the issue of the election of the President of Uzbekistan.
The election of the President of Uzbekistan will be held in December this year. As we prepare the election program, identify the main candidates, and conduct various political events, we will certainly inform the citizens of our country. The date and time of voting in the UAE will be announced in advance on the official website of the Consulate General of Uzbekistan, where you can also find detailed information on the necessary documents for obtaining a visa to Uzbekistan.
Citizens of Uzbekistan living in the UAE can consult on-line about applying for temporary registration, permanent consular registration, obtaining permits for permanent residence, legalizing documents, exchanging passports, obtaining certificates for returning to the Republic of Uzbekistan, registry office questions (registration of birth of children ), renunciation of Uzbek citizenship, and the demand for documents from the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Email address of the site: www.uzconsulate-emirates.mfa.uz
Thank you very much, Bakhtiyor Kamiljanovich, for interesting and very informative answers. We hope to see you soon at the official opening of the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Abu Dhabi.
/ Interviewed Elena Balina /
