Tajikistan marked 35 years of independence on Sept. 9 with an evening reception at the Hilton Garden Inn in Washington. Ambassadors, statesmen, US officials and members of the Tajik community attended, including Kazakh Ambassador Magzhan Ilyassov, Uzbek Ambassador Furqat Sidikov, Malaysian Ambassador Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob and Simon Bland, assistant secretary for international affairs at the Department of Homeland Security.
Tajik musicians greeted arriving guests with traditional performances. Dinner featured pilaf, known in Tajikistan as oshi palav, which is traditionally served at weddings, holidays and gatherings honoring special guests. UNESCO added the dish to its list of intangible cultural heritage in 2016.
Tajik Ambassador Zavqi Zavqizoda opened the program by welcoming Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Paul Kapur. He traced Tajikistan’s history back thousands of years and pointed to Sarazm, a proto-urban settlement dating to the fourth millennium BC that became the country’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.
The ambassador then turned to the years since independence in 1991. He acknowledged the difficulties of the country’s early years before describing its progress and its growing international partnerships.
Addressing the guests, Zavqizoda noted the longstanding relationship between the United States and Tajikistan. He said the two countries have expanded cooperation in security, energy, critical minerals and trade.
Zavqizoda closed on an optimistic note, saying Tajikistan can “accomplish a lot more through peace, unity, partnership and determination.”
After the formal remarks, the musicians returned to the stage and played well into the night. Guests went back for second helpings of palav, and cheesecake added an American touch to dessert. Throughout the evening, documentaries, photographs and videos showed Tajikistan’s snow-capped peaks, mountain rivers and green valleys.
With music, food and landscapes, the embassy gave its guests a full taste of Tajikistan as the country marked 35 years of independence.
All photos by Annie Leatherman.
