Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- After high-level talks at the Elysee Palace, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron with their spouses visited the Louvre Museum in Paris.

The Louvre is one of the largest and most popular museums in the world, has the largest and most valuable art collection. About 10 million tourists visit it every year.

Exhibition “Treasures of the oases of Uzbekistan. At the crossroads of caravan routes”, dedicated to the richest cultural heritage of our people, is organized in accordance with the agreements reached during the visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to France in October 2018. The head of our state noted the need to organize joint exhibitions of museums of Uzbekistan and France, expand scientific and cultural ties between our countries. An appropriate memorandum was signed between the Fund for the Development of Culture and Art of Uzbekistan and the Louvre Museum.

Over the past three years, careful preparatory work for the exhibition has been carried out. Several joint Uzbek-French expeditions took place, during which many archaeological discoveries were made. In addition, restorers from the Louvre and specialists from our country carried out large-scale restoration work in several stages.

The result of this work was the creation of an extensive exhibition space in the Richelieu Hall and the Islamic Department of the Louvre, consisting of five chronological tours: "The Time of the Oasis States and Kingdoms: Diffusion of Cultures through the Silk Road", "The Middle Ages and the Rise of Art", "The Spread of Islam, as well as Cultural and Scientific Dawn in Central Asia”, “From Avicenna to Genghis Khan”, “The Time of Great Empires: the Age of Timurids and Shaibanids”.

The exposition, covering more than 1,500 years of the history of Uzbekistan, consists of 138 unique items from 16 museums of our country, including 70 exhibits jointly restored specially for the exhibition.

The collection also includes 31 exhibits from major museums in France, Great Britain, and the USA.

The leaders of Uzbekistan and France, who became the first visitors to the exhibition, accompanied by its curators, got acquainted with historical artifacts from the settlements of Dalverzintepy and Khalchayan, wall paintings from the red hall of Varakhshi, carved panels from Kafar-kala, pages of the Kattalangar Koran, a double-leaf door from the mausoleum of Amir Temur, painting with the image of ambassadors from Afrasiab and other exhibits. Detailed information was provided about their creation and discovery, epochs and personalities related to their history.

The heads of states, noting the high level of organization of the exhibition and the special atmosphere created here, expressed gratitude to everyone who contributed to the preparation of this most important event in the cultural life of the two countries.

It was emphasized that the exhibition at the Louvre serves to further strengthen long-standing historical ties, friendship and mutual understanding not only between the peoples of France and Uzbekistan, but also between Europe and Central Asia as a whole.

The exhibition will run until 6 March 2023.