Islamic culture binds Iran, Uzbekistan, says NLAI chief
National Library and Archives of Iran Director Gholamreza Amirkhani said that "Islamic civilization" remains the enduring link between Iran and Uzbekistan, as Tehran inaugurated a new cultural “Uzbekistan Room” on its premises.
Amirkhani opened the space at the National Library in central Tehran in the presence of Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to Iran, Fariddin Nasriyev, and virtually, Firdavs Fridunovich Abdukhalikov, head of Uzbekistan’s Islamic Civilization Center, IQNA reported.
The room is stocked with books, manuscripts and historical sources on Uzbek and Islamic heritage.
The inauguration marks a tangible deepening of cultural diplomacy between Tehran and Tashkent. It draws on high-level political support and seeks to reinforce ties across academic, cultural and spiritual spheres despite geographical separation. It also reflects both sides’ recent efforts to translate diplomatic visits into enduring institutions.
Amirkhani recognized that centuries of shared history “transcend borders” even though Iran and Uzbekistan no longer share a common frontier.
He added that Uzbekistan’s “enlightened” President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian both champion stronger ties with Central Asia at official levels.
He said that Iran feels no “fundamental difference” between cities like Isfahan, Shiraz or Mashhad and Uzbekistan’s Ferghana, Samarkand, Bukhara, Termez, and Khwarazm — all parts of a shared cultural geography.
Speaking online, Abdukhalikov said that a delegation from his center had visited Iran to advance cultural cooperation seeded by their presidents.
He said last year’s joint international conference with Iranian scholars and ongoing collaboration with the Astan Quds Razavi Library paved the way for this “Uzbekistan Room,” now established in Iran’s national library.
He added he hoped that growing cultural exchanges would "solidify relations" further and invited Amirkhani to a future symposium in Uzbekistan.
Scientific Secretary of Center of Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan Rustam Jabbarov said the new room opens “a fresh page in spiritual relations” between the two nations.
The new envoy described Iran and Uzbekistan as “friendly countries” and credited this inauguration as a result of the 2023 visit of the Uzbek president to Tehran.
He said bilateral trade reached over $500 million in 2024 and pledged to boost it to more than $2 billion in coming years.
He also noted that over 100 Uzbek businessmen have traveled to Iran, tourism is rising with two flights per week, and cultural cooperation continues to expand.