Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Permanent Mission of Uzbekistan took part in the 8th session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of 2003, held on 8-10 September 2020 at the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris.

As part of the promotion of Uzbekistan’s candidacy for membership of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICICC) for the period 2022-2026, a presentation was made of the efforts made by Uzbekistan to preserve and enhance the country’s rich intangible cultural heritage.

It was especially emphasized that the issue of the development of culture is under the close attention of the Leader of Uzbekistan, as evidenced by the adoption in recent years of a number of key government decrees in this area.

Another striking example is the holding of the International Conference on the Preservation of Tangible and Intangible Heritage in August 2019 in Samarkand, in which UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay took part. Gratitude was expressed to the UNESCO Secretariat for its constant assistance in organizing activities under the auspices of UNESCO to promote the intangible cultural heritage (music festivals "Sharq Taronalari", "Makom" and "Bakhshi"), as well as ICNIC - for supporting efforts to include elements of Uzbekistan in the Representative List of Intangible cultural heritage of mankind, incl. Khorezm dance "Lazgi" in 2019.

It was noted that the Uzbek side expects further support from the member countries to promote the nomination of the national file "Bakhshi" and be included in the specified list. Uzbekistan’s firm commitment to the implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was confirmed.

The republic’s interest was expressed in expanding cooperation with UNESCO in the field of protection and promotion of intangible cultural heritage, including the implementation of programs to strengthen the country’s potential and educational projects, as well as the introduction of innovative technologies into this sector.