On November 16, on behalf of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country hosted a regular meeting of the National Commission of Turkmenistan for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the participation of heads and representatives of relevant ministries and departments, public organizations, and the media.

During the meeting, a wide range of issues of cooperation within the framework of this largest specialized agency of the United Nations, of which Turkmenistan has been a full member since 1993, were considered. The directions of further cooperation have been outlined, including in the context of proposals put forward by our state to include national values in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mankind by UNESCO.

Information was provided on the results of the work of the National Commission for January–October this year in accordance with the instructions and instructions of the President of Turkmenistan, the tasks outlined in the Plan for 2024, as well as on the proposal to nominate Turkmenistan as a member of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage for 2026-2030.

As noted, the constructive dialogue with UNESCO, which has reached a qualitatively new level in recent years, is based on a number of successfully implemented and currently ongoing joint projects. A clear evidence of this is the increase in the number of nominations submitted by our country, which are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mankind.

The ceremony of awarding the Certificate of inclusion in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mankind of the nomination "Ahal-Teke horse breeding art and traditions of horse decoration" on October 12 this year complemented the series of important events of the year "The Storehouse of Reason Mahtumkuly Fragi", marked by the 300th anniversary of the birth of the founder of Turkmen classical literature, the great poet and thinker of the East.

It should be noted that the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List includes a number of unique historical sites located on the territory of the country – Ancient Merv, Kunyaurgench, the Parthian fortresses of Nisa, selected by domestic specialists together with foreign experts. The unanimous adoption in September last year of the decision to add the following nominations to the UNESCO World Heritage List at the suggestion of Turkmenistan: together with the Republics of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan – "The Great Silk Road: Zaravshan–Karakum Corridor" increased the international authority of our state; together with the Republics of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan – "Turan deserts of the temperate zone", within the framework of which the State Nature Reserves of our country "Bereketli Garagum", "Gaplaingyr", the State Biosphere Reserve "Repetek" and the desert ecosystems of its reserve "Yerajy" are included in it.

The Representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of mankind includes the named art of "Gerogly", the art of singing and dancing "kushtdepdi", the craft of making dutar, performing musical art on it and the art of bakhshi, the Turkmen national art of carpet weaving, the Turkmen art of embroidery, sericulture and traditional silk production for weaving, traditions of retelling the parable of the Mall Ependi. In October

In 2023, Ashgabat was included in the UNESCO Network of Creative Cities in the Design category.

During the meeting, special emphasis was placed on successful joint activities in the field of preserving historical, cultural and natural values for future generations, which are an integral part of world civilization. Measures aimed at ensuring the physical preservation of historical monuments include conservation, repair, restoration, as well as related scientific research, design and production work. In this context, it should be noted that the State Register of Objects of the National Historical and Cultural Heritage of the country has been published, prepared by the National Directorate of Turkmenistan for the Protection, Study and Restoration of Historical and Cultural Monuments.

In addition, such topical topics as strengthening the role of the Motherland in large UNESCO units, expanding international scientific partnership, opportunities for cooperation in digital projects and information exchange, etc. were discussed.

Source: State News Agency