Excellencies!
Ladies and gentlemen!
Distinguished participants of the International Navruz Celebration!

I well remember a moment when last year during the celebration of International Navruz Festival in Tehran I cited a poem which in my view fits well this joyous and very festive occasion today:

Light breeze of Navruz blows from abode of friend,
Believe, it will bring good news and enlighten your heart.

Зи кӯи ёр меояд насими боди наврӯзӣ,
Аз ин бод ар мадад хоҳӣ, чароғи дил барафрӯзӣ

Today we are among our friends who with their smiles have brightly lightened this hall and inspired the lights of our hearts.

I am extremely pleased and delighted to extend my heartfelt felicitations and warm wishes to the head of friendly nations and high-ranking dignitaries, to all of you, honorable guests on the occasion of Navruz - the great international celebration and the beginning of a new day that we all celebrate in ancient Tajikistan.

Expressing words of my sincere congratulations to Excellencies and all distinguished participants, and in adherence to our tradition of Navruz, I wish to say:

Happy Navruz celebrations, dear brother!
Happy vernal equinox, dear brother!

Бародар, ҷашни наврӯзат муборак!
Баробар шуд шабу рӯзат, муборак!

Dear and most honorable friends!

We are proud that everyone who now belong to the Navruz Cultural Family particularly those live in the cultural and civilization realm of Navruz, on the eve of this grand and festive occasion says “Happy Navruz!” to each other.

That was not accidental case that Navruz is recognized by the UN as an international holiday. It is not only a good hallmark, but also is a striking illustration of the fact that the modern world more than ever needs supreme moral and behavioral values of Navruz culture.

More than six thousand years ago, our glorious ancestors had founded a culture which demonstrates a victory of light against darkness, right against wrong and triumph of human purity and faithfulness.

Our forefathers used to have a good tradition of cleansing hearts from grievance, forgiving each other and lending helping hands to destitute people during the Navruz days. People used to decorate and clean streets, plant trees and flowers during these days which are considered as a demonstration of a new day and revival of a nature and land.

Laborious peasants used to come to their land with an arrival of Navruz and spring, and cultivate and saw seeds of hopes and expectations for the welfare of the people.

Navruz indeed is the liveliest celebration in the world and it is a sign of an arrival of New Year that embodies a new growth of humanity. The celebration comes every year as renaissance of nature and it coincides and as well as enriched with ideological and cultural trends which it faced over the centuries of the history.

For instance, under Sosoniyon dynasty, people used to throw water on each other as Navruz tradition and during Islam it has transformed into throwing flower.

There is an interesting story which tells on this tradition has emerged. The story relies on Avesta sources. According to the legend, under King Jamshed, a number of animals used to be increased several times to the extent that there was no enough space for animals in the earth.

The God has increased the Earth thrice and ordered people to wash in order to clean themselves out of sins. Further, people every year adhere by this tradition during Navruz, so the Almighty could protect them from disasters.

Navruz traditions have been expanded during the Islam period. That is why, a geographical space of Navruz commemoration has also been extended across the world and gained a new shape and greatness while being recognized the International holiday.

Navruz has always been widely celebrated in Central Asia before the Soviet ear as the New Year. Countries commemorating Navruz, particularly Tajikistan have preserved to the possible extent customs and traditions of this genuinely beautiful holiday of our ancestors over the centuries.

During the years of Tajikistan’s independence, Navruz gains a particular greatness and became a nationwide celebration of the people.

Arrival of this beautiful celebration of nature fills in every family of the country with spring light and fragrance and inspires peasant to plant the seeds of hopes.

The Tajik nation has preserved Navruz celebration over the centuries like its native language and recognizes this festive occasion in the contemporary world as an integral part of national consciousness and a spiritual pride of its nation.

As Navruz comes, people adhering by ancient traditions and good customs are encouraged to do acts of kindness and execute benefaction. Our people during whole period of historic evolvement have always been guided by the humanistic motto of forefathers which says “Kind thoughts, kind words and kind behavior”.

Since, the culture and civilization at large, including Navruz culture, maintains and as well as promotes humanistic and human-loving substance.

By the extensive efforts and cooperation of our nations, Navruz fortunately has been declared as the international day which is an outstanding and an invaluable achievement and matter of pride. We now need to gradually revive old traditions of Navruz that have been forgotten over the many years.

Because, we, against the background of globalization are obliged to undertake and put in place consistent and efficient steps aimed at protecting and promoting moral values as well as enhancing our good cultural traditions.

I do hope that great Navruz this year with its blessed arrival will bring fresh yields to ancient, cultural and laborious Tajik nation, including intelligentsia and young generation and will inspire all of us towards execution of its constructive initiatives and prosperous commitments and bring success to everyone throughout our countries.

In this joyous moment and festive occasion of a new day which has brought elite of countries, it is my enormous pleasure to congratulate all of you, Your Excellencies, distinguished participants of this august gathering and all glorious Tajik people and those in the cultural and civilization realm of Navruz on this great celebration and wish you lasting peace, happiness, well-being and progress.

As saying goes “good year has a good beginning”. So let the abundance of spring and Navruz enriches the life of everyone with fresh colors, brings welfare to families, strengthens international unity and builds genuine peace and promote overall security in the world.

And now, with these benign intentions in mind, I would like to declare the International Navruz Conference opened and call on my dear friends to deliver their heartfelt wishes and congratulations to the gathering.