GLOBAL INFLUENCE OF ASIAN CIVILIZATIONS
On 15 May 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations in Beijing and delivered a keynote speech (http://english.2019cdac.com/). During his speech he raised a four-point proposal to strengthen the "cultural foundation" of mutually building a community with a shared future for Asia and humanity: treating each other with respect and as equals; adhering to openness, inclusiveness, mutual learning; appreciating the beauty of all civilizations; and keeping pace with the times.
In addition, foreign guests including Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Singaporean President Halimah Yacob, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, delivered their speeches during the opening ceremony.
They emphasized the necessity to respect the differences, diversity and uniqueness of civilizations, stating that so-called conflict of civilizations argument is a big mistake which could damage or even ruin the bridge for civilization exchanges.
A total of 1352 representatives from 47 countries in Asia, countries in other parts of the world and international organizations attended the conference under the theme “exchanges and mutual learning among Asian civilizations and a community with a shared future for Asia”. The representatives of the Republican Graduate School named after Abu Rayhan Beruni under the National Agency of Project Management under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan also took a part in this large-scale event. The participants discussed the development of Asian civilizations, exchanged views on mutually beneficial cooperation among Asian countries, and reached extensive consensus.
During the Conference it was also stated, that today, Asian civilizations are conducting exchanges with openness and thriving as a result of mutual learning. The flowers of Asian civilizations are in full bloom in the garden of world civilizations. The peoples of Asian countries should build strong confidence in their own civilizations and endeavor to achieve greater splendor in the future.
In addition, a hope that the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations will provide Asia and the international community with a new starting point for conducting more extensive and in-depth intercivilizational dialogue, and building a diversified communication mechanism in a multi-level dialogue platform was expressed during the event. In order to do this people from Asian countries should promote cooperation among different countries in the fields of culture, tourism, education, health and others.
Together with that, it was emphasized that with the help of uniting and joining hands people will be able to provide Asia and the world with wisdom and the impetus for peaceful development,and build a better future for Asian and world civilizations.
In general, this week-long event includes an opening ceremony, panel discussions, an Asian culture carnival and Asian Civilization Week involving more than 110 activities to showcase the diversity and charm of Asian civilizations.