Ozodbek Nazarbekov spoke about the importance of festivals such as Maqom, Bakhshi Songs, Sharq Taronalari and emphasized that holding such events is more important than paving one street. "Festivals are important in preserving the humanity’s future," said the Minister of Culture.
The XIII Sharq Taronalari International Music Festival is taking place in Samarkand on August 26-30. On the sidelines of the festival, the Minister of Culture Ozodbek Nazarbekov gave an interview to the media and talked about the main goal of holding such festivals.
"Today, the whole world can see that the instability in the world and the governance could go to the hands of evil forces. In such a time, we can stand against such vices or threats by holding firmly to our values and culture and calling upon the whole world to this stance," he said.
"You are asking us a lot of questions: Do we actually need Maqom, Bakhshi Songs and Artisanal Craft festivals, there are a million different opinions about whether these are necessary or not, whether it is better to lay asphalt instead of it. Sorry, but this problem is more important than paving a single street. Because human culture is threatened, spending 3-5 billion soums on such festivals, I think, is very important for preserving the future of humanity. As the Minister of Culture, I consider festivals to be more important than asphalt, more important than other things," concluded the Minister of Culture.
