Your excellency, Mr. President! Your excellency, Madam Azoulay! Distinguished heads of delegations! It gives me great pleasure to extend my most sincere greetings to you on the unique land of Uzbekistan – a land that has been located at the crossroads of ancient cultures and civilizations.
It is a great honor and privilege for us that our Conference is being held, for the first time in the last 40 years, outside the UNESCO Headquarters — here in the ancient and ever-young city of Samarkand.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to His Excellency Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia, His Excellency Peter Pellegrini, President of Slovakia, Her Excellency Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, and to all delegations of the participating countries.
The fact that such a prestigious forum is being held in our country is a vivid manifestation of the high trust that member states of the Organization have in the large-scale and dynamic reforms being carried out in New Uzbekistan.
UNESCO which is celebrating its glorious 80th anniversary, throughout these decades, has established itself as a leading global institution in promoting education, science, culture, art, and information — as well as in fostering international cooperation, mutual trust, and solidarity.
The Organization’s role in preserving national identity of peoples, protecting cultural heritage, and promoting interfaith dialogue continue to grow.
It is deeply symbolic that our Conference is taking place in Samarkand — a city that has made it into human history as a center of humanistic ideas, unique knowledge, and inter-civilizational dialogue.
This ancient city has long been a cradle of great discoveries, a flourishing center of science, literature, and culture.
For instance, under the domes of the observatory built by the great ruler and scholar Mirzo Ulugbek, a unique map of celestial bodies was created — a map that later contributed to the famous discoveries of such scholars as Copernicus and Kepler.
Welcome to majestic Samarkand — a land with a glorious three-thousand-year history, a precious pearl of the Great Silk Road, and a home of peace and friendship among nations and peoples!
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen!
In today’s rapidly changing world, the weakening of global consensus and multilateral cooperation in the humanitarian sphere naturally gives rise to deep concern among us all.
Due to geopolitical tensions and armed conflicts, many unique monuments, sacred sites, and invaluable cultural heritage around the world are suffering great damage.
At the same time, the gap is widening among states in access to knowledge, technologies, and digital resources, while deepening inequality and poverty.
Such complex circumstances dictate us to unite our efforts more than ever to fully implement UNESCO’s main objectives.
We reaffirm our firm commitment to the noble and humanitarian goals of UNESCO.
We stand ready to serve as a bridge of harmony between East and West, North and South – an open and constructive platform for dialogue and cooperation among all.
As full-fledged member of UNESCO, Uzbekistan has been taking consistent steps to elevate our partnership to a new qualitative level.
In particular, the five-year Cooperation Program for the period up to 2027 is being successfully implemented.
The anniversaries of our great ancestors — Abu Rayhan Beruni, Ahmad Fergani, Amir Temur, Ali Qushchi, Kamoliddin Behzod — as well as the Khorezm Mamun Academy and the Alpomish epos have been widely celebrated at the international level.
In addition to the ancient cities of Khiva, Bukhara, Shahrisabz, and Samarkand already included in the World Heritage List, unique monuments along the Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor have also been added.
The natural sites of the Western Tien Shan and Turan Deserts, also included on this list, clearly showcase our region’s unique biological diversity.
Moreover, nearly twenty examples of intangible cultural heritage — such as Shashmaqom, Katta Ashula, the Lazgi dance, Askiya, pottery and painting arts, the celebration of Navruz, and the tradition of atlas and adras weaving—have been recognized by the global community.
Under UNESCO’s auspices, Uzbekistan regularly hosts international festivals such as Sharq Taronalari (“Melodies of the East”), the Maqom Art Festival, and the Bakhshi songs festival, as well as Handicrafts and Ethnosport festivals.
At Uzbekistan’s initiative, several key resolutions were adopted, including The Khiva Process: Advancing International Cooperation in Central Asia (2021), the Tashkent Declaration on Early Childhood Care and Education, and the Tashkent Declaration on the International Day for Universal Access to Information (2023).
Currently, 8 UNESCO Chairs and 24 associated schools operate in our country. Tashkent and Fergana have joined UNESCO’s Global Network of Learning Cities.
Hundreds of cultural heritage sites have been restored in line with international standards and using advanced technologies.
Dear friends!
As part of the General Conference in Samarkand, several side events will take place, including:
– The first-ever Contemporary Art Biennale in ancient Bukhara;
– The opening of a UNESCO-affiliated Regional Center for Early Childhood Education in Tashkent;
– The awarding ceremony for the UNESCO–Uzbekistan Abu Rayhan Beruni International Prize;
– An international forum on the role of Artificial Intelligence in museums;
– And Uzbekistan’s accession to the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education.
I express my sincere gratitude to all member states for their active participation in international events and support of our initiatives.
Dear guests!
Achieving UNESCO’s global goals and taking our multifaceted cooperation to a new stage is the call of our time.
I would like to present several proposals on the key items of our agenda:
First, developing inclusive education and widely integrating artificial intelligence technologies into the educational process has become a pressing task of our time.
It is crucial to ensure equal access to quality education for every child, regardless of physical or social conditions.
In this regard, we propose to establish a UNESCO Platform for the Development of Inclusive Education for Children with Special Needs.
We believe that you will support our plan to convene a World Summit on Vocational Education, with the aim of creating an international format for dialogue and the exchange of knowledge and experience in the education sphere.
Training a new generation that masters information technologies and thinks creatively is our top priority.
To widely integrate AI into education, we are ready to implement a “School of Artificial Intelligence” model project in Uzbekistan, in cooperation with UNESCO.
Furthermore, we propose holding, under the auspices of UNESCO, an International Expert Forum on Artificial Intelligence Ethics, bringing together representatives of leading universities, pedagogical institutions, and research institutes from across all continents.
Second, it is necessary to strengthen our joint efforts to preserve the world’s intangible cultural heritage — the invaluable treasure of humanity.
We are interested in further developing UNESCO’s “Memory of the World” Program, which ensures the preservation and accessibility of oral folklore, manuscripts, archives, historical documents, and cultural data.
We propose declaring the date on which this program —encompassing the spiritual treasures of the world—was established, November 19 of each year, as the “International Day of Documentary Heritage.”
We also propose the establishment of an International Institute for Digital Heritage within the structure of UNESCO.
It is worth noting that the ancient city of Bukhara is a member of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network in the field of crafts.
We are ready to host an International Handicrafts Congress there in 2027.
Third, it is especially important to actively launch global programs aimed at developing women’s leadership and competencies.
According to UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics, women make up only 25% of leaders in scientific and cultural institutions, 30% of education managers, and 33% of researchers worldwide. This, unfortunately, confirms that inequality still persists in ensuring women’s rights.
Gender equality, however, is one of UNESCO’s fundamental priorities and must be integrated into all of its initiatives.
Therefore, we believe the time has come to establish a UNESCO Academy on Women’s Leadership to study and exchange best practices among member states.
We also propose to hold in Samarkand a Global Forum of Women Leaders in Education, Culture, and Science, bringing together outstanding researchers, artists, teachers, and inventors from around the world.
Fourth, effective joint action to combat the climate crisis is another urgent matter.
A significant increase in average temperature, melting of glaciers, desertification, erosion of soil layers, and urbanization processes have a serious impact on the state of cultural heritage objects.
We propose the “UNESCO Ecological Capital” Global Initiative to recognize and encourage cities that successfully implement environmentally responsible and “green” programs.
We also support the development of a UNESCO Executive Board Resolution on Strengthening Measures to Safeguard Cultural Heritage amid Globalization and Climate Change, and we are ready to host an International Symposium in Khiva on this topic.
Fifth, it is becoming increasingly necessary to jointly counter the spread of misinformation, manipulation of public opinion, and discrimination in the virtual space.
We propose organizing an International Festival of Children’s Cultural Content, where young people can exchange their best creative multimedia works and ideas.
To enhance media literacy, analytical thinking, and protect youth from manipulation, we suggest developing a UNESCO’s Comprehensive Strategy on Media and Information Literacy.
Another important issue is the need to promote universal human values such as tolerance, mutual understanding, and harmony at a time when interfaith conflicts are intensifying worldwide.
By promoting the culture and enlightenment of Islam, we can effectively combat radicalism and Islamophobia.
In this regard, we invite all to jointly utilize the potential of Uzbekistan’s unique projects — the Islamic Civilization Center, and Imam Bukhari, Imam Maturidi, Imam Termizi, and Bahouddin Naqshband research centers.
Dear friends!
I am confident that today’s Conference will mark a major practical step in defining new areas of cooperation, strengthening mutual trust, and strengthening global cooperation mechanisms for sustainable development.
Undoubtedly, the “Spirit of Samarkand”, drawing strength from the eternal traditions and values of UNESCO, encourages us to further unite towards common development.
I wish you all new successes and achievements, and fruitful work to the UNESCO General Conference.
