Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived in Samarkand on 23 August to attend the opening ceremony of the Great Silk Road international tourist center.

On the territory of the Eternal City complex, located in the center, a warm conversation was held with representatives of the older generation and the intelligentsia of Samarkand. A dua was read with the wish that the new structures serve for the benefit of our people for a long time.

Then the solemn opening ceremony of the International Tourist Center "The Great Silk Road" took place.

The head of our state made a speech and congratulated everyone on this joyful event.

- Created thanks to the intellectual potential and selfless work of our people, this complex has become another striking achievement on the path of building New Uzbekistan. I congratulate all of you on such a modern, magnificent architectural complex, erected in the ancient and eternally young Samarkand. May he serve our people for many centuries!

Samarkand is a city that is the basis of our national statehood and played an important role in the formation and development of two Renaissances in our history. Tourists came here mainly to see the ancient monuments and visit the shrines of the place. There were no modern complexes for other areas of tourism.

In 2019, at the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a very ambitious project began - the construction of a huge complex on an area of 212 hectares along the rowing canal in Samarkand region. An international team of experienced architects and engineers was involved, and a deeply thought-out project was developed. The head of our state visited this place several times and gave recommendations on finalizing the project, taking into account the traditions of national architecture and in terms of increasing comfort. Together with domestic qualified builders, experienced specialists from such countries as Turkey, Great Britain, Italy took part in the work.

Thus, in a short time, despite the difficulties of the pandemic, this huge complex was completed.

The multidisciplinary center includes 8 modern hotels, a congress hall, the Eternal City complex, an amphitheater and many other facilities. It is capable of serving 2 million tourists a year.

- This wonderful center is a continuation of the architectural traditions founded by our great ancestors. I am sure that it will become a symbolic bridge between our glorious history and the Third Renaissance, the foundation of which we are currently forming, the President noted.

There is a deep meaning in the fact that this complex was given the name “Great Silk Road”. The buildings of the complex reflected historical paintings of the era of the Great Silk Road. Thus, when designing the Eternal City ensemble, the plot of the fresco preserved on the wall of ancient Afrosiab depicting the ceremony of receiving ambassadors from Korea, China, India and other countries by the ruler of the Sogdian state was used.

There is an old bazaar, 40 craft workshops in the traditions of all regions of our country. In them, artisans will conduct master classes in wood carving, pottery, silk paper, jewelry and carpet weaving in front of their eyes.

This is only part of large work to develop the tourism industry in our country. The new tourist center will play an important role in increasing the number of foreign tourists coming to Samarkand to more than 1.5 million people in the coming years. In general, the goal is to increase the number of tourists coming to our country from the current 2 million to 9 million in the next five years. Most importantly, the number of people employed in the tourism sector will exceed 500,000 people.

In addition, modern hotels and a congress hall will create conditions for large-scale events. Authoritative international events will soon be held here, such as the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the meeting of the leaders of the member states of the Organization of Turkic States. Next year, the ancient city will host the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization.

The musical program "The Saga of the Eternal City" has become a figurative embodiment of the new center. The show, which united the art of our people and the world, gave the ceremony a special atmosphere.