Addressing the audience, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed his respect to the National Leader of Azerbaijan and the entire fraternal Azerbaijani people.

“There is a deep meaning in the fact that President Ilham Aliyev's state visit to Uzbekistan began with a solemn opening ceremony of a street named after the national leader of the Azerbaijani people, a great friend of the Uzbek people, Heydar Aliyev.

He went down in history as an outstanding politician and statesman of the XX century, the architect of independent Azerbaijan. Thanks to the firm determination, strong political will and exceptional leadership qualities of Heydar Aliyev, the young sovereign state has overcome all difficulties and trials”, the President of Uzbekistan said.

The President of Uzbekistan highlighted the huge contribution of the national leader of Azerbaijan to the consistent strengthening of friendly relations between the two countries and the historical ties of the two fraternal peoples.

In turn, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, noting that this is his first foreign visit after the pandemic, expressed gratitude to the President and the people of Uzbekistan for the constant attention and care to preserve the good memory of Heydar Aliyev.

“I am very grateful to my dear brother Shavkat Miromonovich for the initiative to create such a beautiful corner in the center of Tashkent dedicated to the memory of Heydar Aliyev, my father. We see in this the truly fraternal attitude of our Uzbek brothers towards our great leader, our common history. It is also a respect for the entire Azerbaijani people”, the Azerbaijani leader said.

Representatives of the intelligentsia, the older generation and the Azerbaijani diaspora in Uzbekistan also addressed the event. They stressed that the well-maintained street and the square named after Heydar Aliyev are a vivid symbol of the unbreakable friendship between the two fraternal peoples.

About 40 thousand Azerbaijanis live in Uzbekistan. The Association of Azerbaijani Cultural Centers was established in 2003. In 2010, a new building of the Azerbaijani Cultural Center named after Heydar Aliyev was opened at the Embassy of Azerbaijan.

The President of Azerbaijan, accompanied by the President of Uzbekistan, visited the Yangi O’zbekiston (New Uzbekistan) Park and laid flowers at the Independence Monument.