Delegation
To Tashkent
The
trip to Tashkent by the sixteen (16) members of the delegation was
extremely successful! Many individuals arrived early in
Uzbekistan, prior to the official visitation days, of August
29-September 2nd. Each person had a wonderful time sightseeing,
or visiting friends or family.
The official delegation days included a 1.5 hour meeting with the
mayor of Tashkent, and then visits to many wonderful museums and
sights. It also included wonderful dinners almost each evening
with Uzbek officials. We were very privileged to see the new mosque
and see a copy of the Koran that was written in the early 700's.
We also were very privileged to attend the Independence Day
activities, which included sitting about 100 feet from President
Karimov, as he made his speech to the nation on the 17th anniversary
of their independence. The evening felt as if we were at the
opening ceremonies of the Olympics; it was that special. The
mayor of Tashkent also held a fantastic reception for us as well, with
the country's top entertainers.
Our delegation leaders, Ms. Jan Drago, City Councilwoman from the
Seattle City Council, and former Mayor Wes Uhlman, were excellent
leaders and ambassador's for our city and the delegation.
We were very fortunate to have them go to Tashkent and help make this
trip so special.
The American embassy held a gathering at the Peace Park, to dedicate a
new bench in the Peace Park and also have former Mayor Uhlman meet the
former mayor of Tashkent (Mayor Kazimov), who signed the original
sister city documents in 1972-1973. It was the 20th
anniversary of the Peace Park. The embassy hosted an American
barbecue at the park, and it was attended by hundreds of people.
(You can see this event described at the American embassy website at http://www.usembassy.uz/home/index.aspx?&mid=909&overview=2425
We
are working to add pictures from the delegation activities to our
website in the near future, including the Peace Park event.
We also held two meetings with the Ministry of Economics regarding our
grant application for Seattle and Tashkent to begin to work together
on global warming issues. We hope that this grant is
successfully submitted and approved.
While we had to deal with a few glitches, our goals for the delegation
were fully met. We re-established our ties with Tashkent; we
celebrated the 35th anniversary of the sister city relationship; we
supported by our attendance the 17th anniversary of Uzbekistan's
status as an independent, sovereign nation; and we celebrated the 20th
anniversary of the Peace Park. Plus, we all felt
personal success in our time with family and friends.
We thank the membership of the STSCA for contributing to our
organization so we had the resources to pay for the purchase and
installment of a beautiful marble bench in the Peace Park to have all
citizens recognize the long friendship between our nations.
Last Update: 23 November 2008
Logo courtesy Mamoun
Sakkal
