Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 25 November, President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov met with active members of Tatar public organizations in Uzbekistan.

Rustam Minnikhanov is in Uzbekistan on a two-day working visit.

The event was held in Samarkand. The meeting was also attended by the khokim of Samarkand region Erkinjon Turdimov. The meeting was moderated by the Deputy Prime Minister of Tatarstan - Chairman of the National Council of the World Tatars Congress Vasil Shaykhraziev. Communication took place in the Tatar language.

Welcoming the gathered representatives of the Tatar public organizations of Uzbekistan, the President of Tatarstan noted that he was very happy to be on the hospitable Uzbek land again.

“It is noteworthy that this meeting takes place in the famous Samarkand, the famous Muslim education center, where Shigabutdin Marjani and many other Tatar scholars and theologians were educated in the 19th century,” Rustam Minnikhanov emphasized.

The President of Tatarstan recalled that today in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan live the largest number of Tatars outside the Russian Federation. In particular, in Uzbekistan, the approximate number of Tatars reaches 300,000 people, which is about 1% of the total population of the country. The largest diasporas of the Tatars of Uzbekistan live in the Tashkent and Samarkand regions.

Rustam Minnikhanov briefly acquainted the audience with the socio-political life of Tatarstan, spoke about the socio-economic situation and plans to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the TASSR. He also touched on the topic of cooperation between Tatarstan and Uzbekistan and expressed confidence that this issue will be provided with comprehensive support from compatriots.

During the meeting, the chairman of the Samarkand regional cultural center of the Tatars and Bashkirs "Umyrzaya" Akhmed Subkhankulov and activists of the center Ruslan Amirov and Rafael Valiev spoke about the activities of the Tatars of the Samarkand region of Uzbekistan.

The President of Tatarstan noted, no matter where the Tatars lived, it was encouraging that they took an active part in public life, put all their efforts into development, and also did not break spiritual ties with their historical homeland. Rustam Minnikhanov thanked for the active life position of the Tatars of Uzbekistan and handed the Thanks of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan to the most distinguished members of the community.