Khiva and San Lorenzo del Escorial have become sister cities

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A solemn ceremony of signing the Memorandum “On cooperation in the field of tourism and culture between the cities of Khiva and San Lorenzo del Escorial took place in Spain.

The document was signed by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Spain Jahongir Ganiev on the Uzbek side, and the Spanish mayor of the city of San Lorenzo del Escorial Blanca Juárez Lorca, Dunyo news agency reported.

The signed document is aimed at establishing cooperation between the two historical cities, deepening mutual understanding by enhancing public diplomacy.

The document envisages exchange of best practices for the development and promotion of tourism, the mutual participation of the tourism industry in specialized events, distribution of tourism publications and other materials, support for the development of tourism infrastructure and the implementation of joint projects and programs, facilitating the exchange between national cultural centers, exhibition halls, museums and cultural figures and more.

The Mayor of San Lorenzo del Escorial Blanca Juárez Lorca noted that the Spanish city has two more twin cities - San Quentin (France) and San Lorenzo de Campo Grande (Paraguay). According to her, establishing partnerships with Khiva in the field of tourism and culture is a recognition of the results of large-scale reforms carried out by Uzbekistan.

The Spanish mayor expressed confidence that the signing of the memorandum would be the beginning of a mutually beneficial bilateral partnership not only between the cities of Khiva and San Lorenzo del Escorial, but also between other regions of Uzbekistan and Spain.

San Lorenzo de El Escorial is located in the province of Madrid. The architectural complex of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, which includes the monastery and the palace of the King of Spain Philip II, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The city is one of the tourist centers of Spain - in 2018 more than 1 million tourists visited it.