Rustam Minnikhanov meets the Tatar community of Kyrgyzstan
On September 3, during his working visit to Kyrgyzstan, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov had a meeting with the local Tatar community.
As noted at the meeting, there are 50,000 Tatars in Kyrgyzstan, with about 16,000 of them living in Bishkek. Tatars of Kirghizia are involved in all spheres of activities, including industry, agriculture, education, health, science, management, culture, etc.
There are several Tatar public associations in Kyrgyzstan. The Public Association “Tatar-Bashkir Cultural Centre “Tugan Tel” of the Assembly of the Peoples of Kyrgyzstan, which has been functioning for 28 years, is the most popular one. Gulsina Ulmaskulova, who has been heading the organization since 1998, told Minnikhanov about the activities of the cultural centre. The national Tatar and Muslim holidays are celebrated in the Tugan Tel. The Sarman chorus and the Tugan Tel children's dance group work at the center. Moreover, there is a Tatar mosque in the city of Karakol.
Ulmaskulova said that many children among the local Tatar youth want to receive Islamic education and choose religious educational institutions of Tatarstan for this purpose. She asked Tatarstan President to render assistance in this matter.
She also thanked Minnikhanov for the opportunity to send children to the children's camps of Tatarstan, in particular, in the Salat camp. According to Ulmaskulova, children communicate with their peers in the Tatar language, which contributes to the development and enrichment of native speech. Representatives of the Tugan Tel Centre asked him to continue this practice in the future.
"We are very pleased to have a meeting with you and are proud of you. Far from Tatarstan, living in a foreign country, you do not forget your roots, meet with each other. I want to thank you for the attention you pay to preserving the national traditions, culture and native language. This means a lot,” Tatarstan President said.
Then, Minnikhanov handed in the Letters of Gratitude of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan to the most active representatives of the Tugan Tel Cultural Centre.