July 20, 2015
World leaders congratulate President of Uzbekistan with Ramadan Khait 2
24th anniversary of Independence of Uzbekistan.. 2
Achievements Secured through Independence. 2
POLItiCs
World leaders congratulate President of Uzbekistan with Ramadan Khait
Heads of states of foreign countries and influential international organizations sent congratulatory messages addressed to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov on the occasion of Ramadan Khait.
His Excellency
Mr. Islam Karimov,
The President Of The Republic Of Uzbekistan
Dear Mr. President!
On behalf of the American people, Michelle and I extend to you and the people of your country best wishes on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.
During Ramadan, Muslims around the world, including a strong and active muslim community of America, through spiritual renewal and worship sought to be closer to Almighty.
This month was a period of communication with loved ones, helping those in need and thinking about the wisdom and peace that can be known through faith. The tradition of fasting and prayers remind us of universal values that we all share.
May the coming year bring you joy, prosperity and well-being. Eid Mubarak!
Sincerely
Barack Obama,
The President Of The United States Of America
* * *
Sincere wishes of good health, happiness to the head of our state, goodness, peace and prosperity to the people of Uzbekistan were also sent by:
President of the Republic of Singapore Tony Tan Keng Yam;
President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan;
Vice President, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Ruler of the Emirate of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum;
The crown Prince of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the Commander of the military forces of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan;
King of Jordan Abdullah II bin al-Hussein;
Sultan of Oman Qaboos bin said;
President of the Arab Republic Of Egypt Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi;
President of the Islamic Republic Of Iran Hassan Rouhani;
President of the Turkish Republic Regep Tayyip Erdogan;
President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov;
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev;
President of the Republic Of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon;
President of the Kyrgyz Republic Almazbek Atambayev;
Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic cooperation Iyad bin Amin Madani.
Congratulatory messages continue to arrive.
(Source: UzReport.uz)
24th anniversary of Independence of Uzbekistan
Achievements Secured through Independence
Uzbekistan is poised to celebrate the 24th anniversary of its national independence this year. Whether this is a long period or not is up to historians to decide. We, journalists, want to tell our readers about milestones that have become turning points for our country, determined its present and laid the groundwork for its future gains. We can evoke hundreds of examples testifying to the achievements gained in the years since independence. There are, however, unique initiatives that were possible only thanks to our independence. One such initiative is a major project that has translated into the creation of standard housing in rural areas, which has no parallel elsewhere in the world.
Today, when thousands of modern homes have been built in Uzbekistan in line with international standards, there is no place for surprise that the country’s GDP has demonstrated stable growth over the past twenty years. People living in comfort and in confidence in their future are the very driving force that is able to lead the republic notwithstanding global financial strains. It stands to reason when they say that a country’s wealth is not its natural resources, but its people. And this is exactly why the creation of all conditions and efforts to boost people’s welfare receive a great deal of attention in Uzbekistan.
The project to build standard housing in Uzbekistan’s rural areas was launched in 2009. Specialists went to great lengths to pick tried and tested technologies, analyzed them, and combined them with national developments. As a result, they created projects that are best suited to the local environment. As of today, over 40,000 modern and comfortable homes have sprung up across Uzbekistan in recent years. In the next two years, developers are planning to bring into service another 25,000 homes. Six years ago, we could not even imagine that our rural areas would boast unique residential areas with modern homes and the proper infrastructure: household services, stores, schools, kindergartens, and paved roads.
It is therefore no wonder that foreign visitors express surprise at the pace of Uzbekistan’s development. They also marvel at the successful synergy of modern architectural trends and national traditions. Much to their amazement, they learn that these transformations were secured in as few as twenty years. In the ‘90s of the past century, the country was on the verge of a crisis while today it is a successful country. A country that values accord, honest labor and initiative is certain to reach welfare and prosperity. Therefore, the main vector of all the transformations is aimed at people, their comfortable present and promising future.
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)
Art
When the Canvas Is a Stage
“If the great miniature artist Kamoliddin Behzod and the outstanding surrealism genius Hieronymus Bosch were to turn up in the modern Tashkent, they would meet here their brother in creativity…” That is how the renowned playwright Timur Zulfikarov has described the works by the celebrated Uzbek artist Bobur Ismoilov.
Bobur Ismailov has been awarded numerous diplomas and certificates, including the Gold Medal of the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan. His works are kept in the collections of Uzbekistan’s Gallery of Fine Arts, the Van Gogh Museum in France, the “International Art Ltd.” gallery in the United States, as well as in private collections across the world. Moreover, three or four solo exhibitions of his are held abroad every year. This year, he has already exhibited in France, and two weeks ago he returned from Azerbaijan, where he took part in a festival of contemporary artists, “The Maiden Tower”.
Notwithstanding this circumstance, the reason that made me dial his phone number to arrange an interview was my curiosity as to what he is a person like, a man who combines the job of a painter with that of a designer. By training he is a theatrical production designer. His portfolio includes works on plays in various theaters of the capital city, on motion pictures, cartoons, designing art books and fiction; it is he who is behind the design and layout of major art exhibitions. In his own words, he is the wizard who can come to help a customer and transform any room. Among his masterpieces are the designs of cafes and restaurants, and now he is involved in the reconstruction of the terminal at the capital’s Tashkent-2 international airport. However, Bobur said he prefers the topic on painting, by putting thus, “By vocation, I am an artist, and this is important. Everything else in my creativity is built on the fact that I can draw, implement the fantasies in life, feel the aesthetic component.” And our conversation did not lose its relevance though.
“Bobur, what are you like when you draw a painting?”
“That is a peculiar state of mind. I cannot work when there is no inspiration. I do not draw from the nature, do not copy the reality. The creation of a painting for me is a much deeper process than the materialization of thoughts. Canvases are the stages, while my fictional character and his world are the decorations of my illusions. In the finished painting, there is innuendo left for me. Each canvas is like an unfinished play.”
“You often exhibit abroad, and more frequently in France. How does the public meet you there?”
“Wherever I hold my expositions – be it France, the UAE, Russia – the public always welcomes me with great interest, because the language of art is the same everywhere. Though I am always a bit anxious before any exhibition; after all, every one of them is a kind of introduction to a new audience. With my works I go to some cities several times a year. And among those destinations is Paris. That megalopolis has people who have a curious eye on my creativity and visit my exhibitions every time.”
“Doesn’t it get annoying to travel to the one and the same cities?”
“I love traveling. For me, any trip is quite interesting and exciting, it broadens the mind, and in the process I get a creative charge. In addition, each of them is motivating in its own way. It is for the architecture that Paris has been invariable for many years, but it is full of life. Bienniales in that city gather thousands of artists from all over the world; 80 exhibitions open at the same time in different exposition halls. Can it be not interesting and fun?”
“Where do you draw your paintings?”
“The majority of works that have been presented at exhibitions and appreciated by the public, were drawn in my native Tashkent, and their themes are filled with the city’s extraordinary, measured life.
“I have had to work overseas, as well. Three years ago, for instance, for the entire period of three months I worked in Paris downtown, in the celebrated art residence Cite Internationale des Arts. That was one of the most productive periods of my life. I happened to paint around as many as 40 canvases and about 80 graphic papers. Such kind of creative splash was facilitated by the fact that I was among the 380 workshops of artists like me who arrived from all around the world.
I have been active in the last years in the festival of contemporary art “Maiden Tower” held in Azerbaijan, with installations. Last time around, canisters served as materiel for my works. I built up a mountain made of them, which I enveloped with pipes with water taps. The installation I called “Chashma” (Water Spring). This way I expressed my perception of the dependence of our world on the so-called oil needle.
“Are you getting prepared for a next trip?”
“I have an invitation to Moscow, planning to travel there in August. That is going to be my next solo exhibition of paintings that the public of that country has not seen yet.”
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)
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