Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Today, on 16 November, as part of the week of tolerance, a ceremony of laying flowers at the monument to the Shoakhmat Shomakhmudov family, which is a vivid example of Uzbek character and a symbol of the people, was held in Tashkent.

The event was attended by representatives of the Committee on Interethnic Relations and Friendly Relations with Foreign Countries under the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, chairmen and activists of national cultural centers and friendship societies, athletes, the public of the city, youth, as well as media representatives.

“In our country, all conditions have been created for everyone to feel confident in the future. We hear more than once from President Shavkat Mirziyoyev that friendship between our peoples can serve as the foundation for the country’s prosperity. We perceive the Day of Tolerance as mutual respect between the nationalities living in our country. Laying flowers at the monument to the Shomakhmudov family is an important action that embodies the most valuable qualities,” said Tatyana Alimkhodjaeva, deputy chairman of the Russian Cultural Center of Uzbekistan.

In honor of the family of Shoakhmat Shomakhmudov, who sheltered children of fifteen different nationalities, a monument of Friendship of Peoples was erected on the Friendship of Peoples Square in Tashkent.

Today, Uzbekistan can be a model for the rest of the world as a country embodying the principles of tolerance. We can say that this centuries-old experience of Uzbekistan is inherent in the Uzbek people. Strengthening the spirit of interethnic harmony and mutual understanding in society, ensuring equal rights and opportunities for all citizens of the country, regardless of their nationality, is one of the priority directions of state policy in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

During the years of repression in the 37th year of the twentieth century and the Second World War, the people of Uzbekistan accepted people who were forcibly expelled from their countries, showed mercy, extended a helping hand and shared a piece of bread. Koreans, Germans, Turks, Poles, Greeks, Crimean Tatars acquired their second homeland on this fertile land. More than 1.5 million elderly people, women, evacuated to Uzbekistan from the hot spots of the front during the Second World War, were saved from starvation and death. Among them are over 300 thousand orphans from Belarus, Poland, Ukraine and besieged Leningrad.

In order to ensure equal rights and opportunities for all citizens of the country, regardless of their nationality and to strengthen the spirit of interethnic harmony and mutual understanding in society, an international week of tolerance is being held in Uzbekistan from 15 to 21 November. The week will consist of a variety of cultural and educational events, which will be held under the motto "Uzbekistan - Tolerant Land".