Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 21 May 2021, within the framework of his visit to Italy, Deputy Prime Minister Abdulaziz Abdukhakimov held talks with the Director General of the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) V. Ndoro at the headquarters of the Organization in Rome. 

ICCROM is an intergovernmental organization dealing with the preservation of the world cultural heritage through training, information, research and cooperation. It was created in 1959 with headquarters in Rome at the initiative of the General Conference of UNESCO. The number of member countries is 137. It is an advisory body and a key partner of UNESCO in promoting its mandate. It Assists in the consideration of projects, the development of conclusions and recommendations regarding the conservation and restoration of World Heritage sites in the world.

At the meeting, the current state and prospects for expanding bilateral cooperation were thoroughly discussed, including the question of the possible entry of Uzbekistan into this Organization. The Uzbek side presented the rich historical and cultural heritage of Uzbekistan, on the territory of which there are more than 8 thousand architectural monuments, monuments and heritage sites. 

The participants were informed of the large-scale efforts made in recent years under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to protect, augment and popularize the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the country.

As noted, this issue was in the focus of the meetings of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev with the Director General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay in 2018-2019 in the cities of Paris and Samarkand, which gave a powerful impetus to bring relations to a qualitatively new level. In this regard, it was emphasized that Uzbekistan attaches great importance to expanding interaction with ICCROM, which is a key consultative body of UNESCO in the field of culture.

Ndoro highly appreciated the measures taken by the Government of the republic to protect the cultural heritage and key initiatives of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sh.M. Mirziyoyev in this area. The Director General announced the readiness of ICCROM to make a worthy contribution to support Uzbekistan in the implementation of specific projects and programs by mobilizing the rich expert and research experience and practice accumulated in the Organization for decades.

During the meeting, agreements were reached on:

rendering assistance to ICCROM in the implementation of the tasks and initiatives set by the Head of Uzbekistan to build up the research potential of national experts and departments in the field of heritage preservation;

the development of a plan of concrete measures "dorcard" for the further development of cooperation with ICCROM, incl. working out the issue of Uzbekistan's membership in the Organization;

involving an experienced expert of the Organization in the work of the newly created International Consultative Mechanism for the preservation and restoration of World Heritage sites in Uzbekistan;

mobilizing the potential of ICCROM to further improve the educational process at the International University of Tourism "Silk Road" with an emphasis on the important role of cultural heritage in the development of sustainable tourism in the country;

expanding interaction with ICCROM in terms of promoting Uzbekistan's positions on the preservation of World Heritage sites on various UNESCO platforms;

organization of visits of the management and specialists of the Organization to Uzbekistan to participate in large international conferences and high-level forums.

Following the negotiations, in a solemn atmosphere, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between ICCROM and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan regarding cooperation in the field of capacity building for the protection of cultural heritage.

 V.Ndoro expressed the hope that this document, being the first step towards the institutionalization of relations, will serve as a solid legal basis for the development of a trusting and close partnership in the coming years.