From September 10 to 13, 2025, the cities of Tashkent and Samarkand will host the second International Forum “Dialogue of Declarations.” The event is being organized by the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan (ISRS) in partnership with the U.S. NGO Love Your Neighbor Community (LYNC). It is supported by the Committee on Religious Affairs, the Center of Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Samarkand Regional Administration.
The forum continues the legacy of the 2022 gathering in Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara, which culminated in the adoption of the Bukhara Declaration—later recognized as an official document of the 76th UN General Assembly.
Since 2016, similar forums have been held in cities including Marrakech, Mecca, Jakarta, Potomac, and Punta del Este, establishing themselves as influential global platforms promoting education, religious freedom, and tolerance. Each meeting traditionally concludes with a declaration carrying the host city’s name.
Uzbekistan first hosted the event in 2019 in Tashkent, and it has since become a landmark conference, showcasing the nation’s cultural and religious heritage and its efforts to foster interfaith harmony, tolerance, and mutual understanding.
This year’s forum is expected to draw around 50 prominent religious scholars, theologians, experts, and senior officials from 15 countries, among them the United States, United Kingdom, China, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Indonesia, and Central Asian states.
The gathering will conclude with the adoption of a Final Appeal to the international community, urging the protection of religious minorities, the elimination of discrimination on religious grounds, the use of education to counter extremism, the recognition of freedom of belief as a universal right, and the promotion of equality among all peoples regardless of cultural or religious differences.
The outcomes of the second “Dialogue of Declarations” are expected to make a meaningful contribution to advancing religious tolerance, mutual respect, generosity, and peaceful coexistence in today’s diverse global society.
