Happy and honorable young men and women of the country!
Future masters of the Motherland!
I sincerely congratulate all of you on Youth Day, which is celebrated annually on May 23 in our sovereign country.
First of all, I wish each of you good health, happiness, and strong will and determination on the sacred path of nation-building and patriotism.
We consider youth as a great force capable of achieving the constructive and forward-looking goals of the state and government.
That is why, from the very beginning of independence, we have created all necessary conditions for the education, upbringing, intellectual and physical development of youth and continue this work consistently.
In this regard, I want to emphasize an important point: the protection of the independence and freedom of Tajikistan and the strengthening of the foundations of national statehood, which are among the foremost and greatest political goals of our country, today and in the future directly depend on the patriotic activities of young people.
With satisfaction and pride, I note that the honorable and brave Tajik youth made a great contribution in the most difficult moments to the protection of state independence, the restoration of constitutional order, and ensuring peace, stability, and national unity.
Even today, brave and patriotic young men and women of our country faithfully serve in the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies to protect the security of the state and society, the peace and well-being of the Tajik people.
Our youth actively participate in all spheres of state and public life — education and healthcare, culture, mastering and using advanced technologies, entrepreneurship and industry, agriculture and energy, as well as public service.
Their active work in developing sports as a vital factor of a healthy lifestyle and in proudly representing our beloved country on the international stage deserves high praise.
The government takes all necessary measures to address issues related to youth education, training, employment, activities, and leisure, ensuring decent living conditions.
The adoption and implementation of laws on youth policy and sports, effective implementation of the State Youth Policy Strategy until 2030, and state programs on youth and sports have created an organizational and legal framework for the development of this sector.
The establishment of the National Youth Council under the President, the Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports, construction and commissioning of youth centers in cities and districts, building thousands of modern educational institutions and tens of thousands of sports facilities — all these are part of these initiatives.
As I have previously noted, to create the best conditions for education and upbringing of the younger generation, 11 state investment projects worth 4.6 billion somoni are currently being implemented in the education sector.
During the years of independence, 3,670 new general education schools, 262 preschools, and 35 higher education institutions have been built and put into operation.
In 1991, the country had only 13 higher education institutions with 69 thousand students. Now their number has reached 48, and the number of students has exceeded 214 thousand.
Today, there are 153 technical vocational lyceums, colleges, and short-term vocational courses with 141 thousand students.
In addition, during independence, more than 117 thousand talented young men and women from the country have been sent to study at prestigious universities in 42 leading countries of the world.
Currently, 42,400 talented students from Tajikistan study at the best higher education institutions in 42 developed countries.
All these measures show the support and care of the state and government of Tajikistan aimed at equipping youth with modern knowledge, professions, and skills.
The policy of rejuvenating public service personnel, establishing presidential quotas and scholarships, the Ismoili Somoni State Award for young scientists, republican contests such as "The Dawn of Knowledge is the Book," "Tajikistan – My Beloved Homeland!," "Science is the Light of Knowledge," and other events all testify to the constant care of the state and government for the younger generation.
We are pleased and proud that our youth, aware of their political and social responsibility to the state and society, work with a warm sense of patriotism and unity for the progress and prosperity of the Motherland.
To develop exact sciences, expand innovative thinking, and widely use modern technologies, we have declared 2020–2040 as the "Years of Study and Development of Natural, Exact, and Mathematical Sciences," and 2025–2030 as the "Years of Innovation and Digital Economy Development."
In this process, we expect that the creative youth of the homeland, mastering modern knowledge, especially in exact and mathematical sciences, with creativity, inventiveness, broad outlook, and initiative, will make a worthy contribution to achieving these goals.
Our youth, who grow up in an atmosphere of independence, freedom, peace, stability, and national unity, must protect Tajikistan’s independence and achievements as the greatest treasure of the Tajik people and, through constructive work, make our beloved homeland even more prosperous and developed.
The very unstable and uneasy situation in the modern world, including the clash of civilizations, primarily negatively affects the minds, consciousness, and ideology of the younger generation.
In such a sensitive and challenging situation, you — the sons and daughters of independent Tajikistan — must always be vigilant and prudent, cherish the language, history, culture, customs, traditions, and other national values, never allow alien influence, and remember that each of you is responsible for protecting the interests of the Tajik nation and Tajik state.
You, dear young men and women, who are the creators of Tajikistan’s bright future and the reliable pillar of the state and nation, must have a high sense of national identity, sincerely love your homeland, serve it loyally, and be proud that you are children of one of the world’s most ancient, cultured, and civilization-forming peoples.
I have complete confidence in your intellect and wisdom, self-awareness and self-knowledge, courage and bravery, zeal and resilience, as well as your intellectual and physical strength — you, the children of Tajikistan’s independence era.
I am confident that you will continue the traditions of patriotism and nation-building, make our dear Tajikistan more prosperous, and raise its prestige on the international stage.
Once again, I sincerely congratulate all of you — the young men and women of the country — on Youth Day, and wish each of you health, success, and achievements in your constructive activities for the prosperity of our beloved homeland.
Happy Youth Day, dear children of the homeland!
