I welcoming remarks

Speech by Sherzod Abdullayev, Head of the Center for
Comprehensive International Studies at the University
of World Economy and Diplomacy
Central Asia has always been a fairly comprehensive and
distinctive cultural and historical space formed due to the
common historical destinies of the peoples inhabiting it,
geographical conditions and the operation of common cultural
patterns. And a special role in this phenomenon was played not
only by the unity of ethno-cultural processes, but also by the
absence of internal borders that determine permanent large-scale
contacts within the region.
Central Asia was a kind of "meeting place" of world
religions: Christianity, Islam and Buddhism, - the interaction of
cultures of Turkic, Indo-European, Finno-Ugric, Sino-Tibetan
peoples. From the five world empires of antiquity (Rome, Parthia,
Kushan, Han and the nomadic empire of the Huns) at the turn of
our era (1st century BC - III century), the two were created by
immigrants from Central Asia, and the third (nomadic) empire
transferred its political and administrative center to the territory
of our region. This was the period when Central Asia played a
key role in world politics, economics and culture. In the final
count, this determined the specific mentality, cultural stereotypes
and traditions of ethnic groups, as well as the multiethnic and
multi-confessional nature of the region. Thus, being an ethno-
contact zone, Central Asia in many respects defined the destinies
of the peoples of the entire Eurasian continent. The generality of
historical destinies which has developed over three or four
millennia, can be traced in numerous written sources, witnessed
in known historical facts, confirmed by archaeological
discoveries. This generality is an obvious constant throughout the
history of our region. Figuratively speaking, it is the millennial
roots of history that feed and contribute to the integration
processes in the modern post-Soviet space of Central Asia.

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It should be noted that the idea of a single cultural,
civilizational and historical space is interpreted among the expert
community differently: there are different assessments, including
critical ones. However, more and more researchers come to the
realization that Central Asia is a kind of local civilization that has
managed to develop its own civilizational space. The preservation
of the value system that their ancestors have developed over
many years, the search for a clear answer to the question of the
future of their countries, and their national identity, thereby
returning the basic cultural and civilizational landmarks, giving
citizens confidence in the future is the urgent task of the cultural
and civilizational development of the peoples of the region at the
present stage. Only a detailed and subtle reverence of cultural
traditions, coming from the depths of centuries, is able to
establish a new form of political thinking oriented toward high
spiritual ideals, as opposed to, as Ortega-i Gasset noted