On 8 February 2024, a ceremonial opening of the Alisher Navoi Center for Uzbek Language and Culture took place at Uludağ University in the historic city of Bursa, Türkiye. Addressing the participants, Academician Shuhrat Sirojiddinov, Rector of the Alisher Navoi Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature, congratulated those present on the historic occasion and noted that the establishment of the center was initiated by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and the President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The opening ceremony was attended by representatives of TURKSOY, Rector of Bursa Uludağ University Ferudun Yılmaz, Deputy Minister of National Education of Türkiye Celile Eren Ökten, Political Affairs Adviser of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Türkiye Avazbek Khojimetov, as well as prominent Navoi scholars, Turkologists, and young researchers from around the world.

The center will be equipped with essential academic resources for young scholars, historians, and ethnographers conducting research on ancient and modern Turkic languages and the literature of Turkic peoples. In addition, it will serve as a platform for academic exchange between faculty members and students of the two universities. The center will also provide broad opportunities for Turkish youth and the brotherly Turkish public to gain in-depth knowledge about Uzbekistan, its history, present development, and future prospects.

In a symbolic sense, the center represents a practical embodiment of the idea of unity envisioned by the great poet and thinker Alisher Navoi.

The Alisher Navoi Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature donated more than 200 academic, literary, and popular science books to the center, along with examples of Uzbek national applied arts and traditional musical instruments.

The establishment of the center was carried out through the unified initiative of the leaders of both countries. In particular, this objective was explicitly highlighted in Presidential Resolution No. PQ-19 of 12 January 2024, titled “On Additional Measures to Further Enhance Uzbekistan’s International Image and Increase Tourist Flows by Actively Promoting the Study of Uzbekistan’s History and Culture, the Uzbek Language, and Literature Abroad.”

It was agreed that the center would regularly host Uzbekistan Culture Days, lectures by Uzbek scholars, meetings with poets, writers, and cultural figures, as well as events dedicated to the present achievements and future prospects of New Uzbekistan. Representatives of both countries emphasized that the center would play a significant role in bringing the cultures of the two nations closer together and in promoting mutual exchange of experience between educational institutions, expressing strong support for such constructive initiatives.