JABAR EKSPRES – Samarkand City Governor Erkinjon Turdimov will follow up on Vice President Ma’ruf Amin’s proposal to build a Sukarno Memorial Library at the Imam Bukhari mausoleum complex in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
This was conveyed by Governor Erkinjon to the Vice President during a casual dinner at Mezana Restaurant, Eternal City Samarkand, Thursday (6/15) evening local time, as stated by the Vice President.
“He (the Governor) said that in principle he agrees but it must be discussed with the council of scholars here. The proposal will be discussed later,” the Vice President said after the dinner.
In addition to the construction of the Sukarno Memorial Library, during the meeting the Vice President conveyed two important matters related to cooperation, including in the fields of tourism and creative economy.
“I hope we can strengthen cooperation in this field. Especially considering that Samarkand is the main tourist city in Uzbekistan,” the Vice President said.
The Vice President said that in the field of religious tourism, Samarkand is known as one of the historical centers of Islamic civilization which has many scholars.
Thus, it is expected that as countries that both have large Muslim populations, religious tourism in both countries can increase.
Moreover, Samarkand is the location where the tomb of hadith expert Imam Bukhari is located.
“Imam Bukhari is a highly respected Islamic figure for his contribution to compiling the Hadith collection. We can develop this through cooperation between Samarkand and other cities in Indonesia,” he said.
In addition to tourism, the Vice President also said that creative economy cooperation is expected to be developed, especially for halal products and modest fashion.
“Indonesia and Uzbekistan have jointly held the Halal Beyond Borders Exhibition and Conference from May 31 to June 7, 2023,” the Vice President said.
The Vice President also hoped that cooperation between the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Uzbekistan can be well synergized.
