Dear participants of the festival!
Esteemed guests!
Ladies and gentlemen!
I have a tremendous pleasure to greet you all, dear participants of the Sharq Taronalari International Music Festival, who have gathered here at this glorious Registan Square in one of the world’s most ancient cities – Samarkand, and express my most earnest reverence to you all from the bottom of my heart.
I convey my deep honor and gratefulness to high-ranking guests, namely, the UNESCO Director General Ms. Irina Bokova, the Secretary General of the International Association of Culture and Arts Ms. Kuo Li Min, the Secretary General of the International Organization of Folklore Art Mr. Moon Hyung Suk, the Chairman of the Association of International Art Festivals of Asia Mr. Chen Shenglai, the Adviser to President of the Republic of Korea for culture and arts policy Mr. Hyung Wan Li, as well as all of our dear friends who take part in the current forum of music and arts.
The eminence and status of our festival is indisputably added up by the participation of world-renowned music figures – chief of the Timitar International Music Festival of Morocco Mr. Brahim El Mazned, President of the Japanese Music Association Mr. Kawasa Tadasuka, and also the Minister of Information and Culture of Afghanistan Mr. Said Mahdum Rahin along with the Kuala Lumpur mayor Mr. Datuk Ahmad Feisal Talib.
The current music fair is enhanced in its significance also by the attendance of one other esteemed guest – member of the United States Congress, the famed politician Mr. James Patrick Moran.
I would take this opportunity to welcome the honorable ambassadors and other representatives of foreign countries in Uzbekistan, who are present here at this feast of music.
We greet you, dear guests from 52 nations of the world, with joy in Eastern manner and with words “Welcome to the splendid land of Samarkand, welcome to the hospitable Uzbekistan!”
Respected friends!
Today, we hold the Sharq Taronalari International Music Festival in our country for the ninth time. And in every occasion, we come to be convinced time and again of the adequacy of our decision, backed by the UNESCO, to organize this music festivity in this very city of Samarkand.
This most ancient town, one of the centers of world culture and civilization during centuries, is a symbol of the legendary East – charming with its globally celebrated architectural monuments, wielding immense potential and boasting a fabulous nature – and irrefutably deserves to host most prominent international forums.
The unique stage on the Registan Square that is correctly considered the heart of this marvelous and blessed city, I feel confident, will afford a special spirit, beauty and a peerless sound to the national classical melodies, which are going to leave a lasting trace in the memories of thousands of art lovers.
If one is to briefly convey the idea and goals of the Sharq Taronalari Festival, it is noteworthy that it deserves attention primarily by its designation not merely to promote music art, but also uplift its influence on people, glorify the noblest of hopes and aspirations through the medium of music, and, what is crucially important, it facilitates the further consolidation of friendship and harmony, peace and accord among peoples by bonding together the representatives of diverse ethnic groups without the help of any translators.
Esteemed participants of the festival!
In your faces, we first and foremost see the gifted figures of arts and selfless people who magnanimously serve to further the gracious mission of perpetuating and augmenting the greatest and priceless spiritual wealth, namely, the classical art of the East, in order to pass it carefully on to the posterity.
In this regard, it is truly difficult to overestimate the significance of such festivals as the Sharq Taronalari, especially in our restless and extremely complicated times, of festivals which brightly display the infinite power and impact of the music art that serves to revise the sources of values common to the entire human race, to materialize the most critical undertaking by making diverse peoples closer together, by cementing mutual understanding among them, the peace and harmony in the region and the world in general.
This is the reason we receive you, the representatives of various nations and continents, as our dearest guests, as bearers of the great ideals of humanism, and we bow to your talents and mastery.
Dear festival participants!
We all understand well that the thorough preparations and the creation of necessary conditions for holding the increasingly eminent Sharq Taronalari International Music Festival at a high organizational level, to be sure, demand for great efficiency and responsibility.
I deem it my duty to express, on behalf of you and all of us, sincere gratitude to all those who, sacrificing their virtue and energy, has fulfilled this task with dignity. That category of people will include primarily the residents of Samarkand who have earned renown across the world for their superb qualities like hospitality, kindness and generosity of soul.
Employing this opportunity, as a man who was born and raised in this ancient and young city that remains the most beloved and dearest place for me, I would like to say that I have a boundless pleasure to express again my filial love and dedication to all of my revered fellow country men and women.
Dear compatriots!
Esteemed guests!
I mentally embrace you all and congratulate you on the opening of today’s terrific festivity – the Sharq Taronalari International Music Festival.
Let me wish you all a sound health, happiness and prosperity, and every success in the work of the forum!
Thank you for attention!