On August 17, 2023, a festive conference dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s accession to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was held at the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.
The holiday began with acquaintance with the exhibition dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s accession to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Then the festive conference “Turkmenistan – UNESCO: cooperation for prosperity” was held. The conference was attended by representatives of relevant Committees of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan, ministries and departments of the country, heads and employees of the diplomatic service of Turkmenistan, heads and representatives of diplomatic missions and offices of international organizations working in Turkmenistan, as well as representatives of public organizations and the media of the country.
The conference was opened by the rector of the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Jumamyrat Gurbangeldiyev.
Then the floor was given to the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov.
At the beginning of his speech, R.Meredov congratulated the participants of the conference on the anniversary date – the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s membership in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and stressed that the development of cooperation with UNESCO is one of the priorities of the foreign policy strategy of the President of Turkmenistan.
It was also noted that for thirty years Turkmenistan has been an active participant in global efforts to preserve cultural heritage, develop education, scientific progress, and establish the principles of peace and mutual understanding between peoples. Turkmenistan takes an active part in activities for the protection, preservation and promotion of cultural and natural heritage.
During the event, the UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Dmitry Shlapachenko, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the OSCE Center in Ashgabat Rune Castberg, Executive Secretary of the National Commission of Turkmenistan for UNESCO Ch.Rustemova, Minister of Education of Turkmenistan G.Ataeva also gave a speech.
As well, First Deputy Director-General of UNESCO Xing Qu, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, Assistant Director-General of UNESCO Vladimir Ryabinin, Director of the UNESCO Cluster Office in Tehran Golda El-Khoury and Director of the UNESCO Institute for Information technologies in education Tao Zhan also sent their video-messages.
Speakers during the conference noted that as a result of the successful continuation by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov of the noble undertakings initiated by the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan, Hero-Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Turkmenistan attaches special importance to the consistent expansion of interaction with specialized UN structures, in particular, with UNESCO – an organization for education, science and culture. It was stated that the National Commission of Turkmenistan for UNESCO is carrying out effective work in this direction.
As an illustrative example of this activity, it was noted that last year, the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, at the initiative of Turkmenistan, was supplemented with such types of intangible heritage as “Turkmen art of embroidery”, “Sericulture and traditional production of silk for weaving” and “Traditions of retelling Parable of Molla Ependi”.
It was stated that during the period of cooperation, Turkmenistan has acceded to 13 fundamental international documents of UNESCO, among which the “Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage” should be highlighted. Following the basic principles of this Convention, more than 1,000 monuments of history and culture have been identified and registered on the territory of Turkmenistan so far. Among the first sites, 3 monuments of universal significance such as “Ancient Merv”, “Kunya-Urgench” and “Parthian Fortresses of Nisa” were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999, 2005 and 2007.
Within the framework of the “UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage”, 8 intangible cultural property nominated by Turkmenistan were included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Then, an Address was adopted to the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov on behalf of the participants of the conference “Turkmenistan – UNESCO: cooperation for prosperity”, which emphasizes that the progressive initiatives put forward by our state, aimed at ensuring the careful preservation and popularization of the country’s historical and cultural monuments, as well as to intensify cooperation with UNESCO, have received broad support from the Community of Nations. All this is a clear evidence of the triumph of cultural and scientific diplomacy of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov in the name of the triumph of the high ideals of the Turkmen people and human civilization as a whole. ///MFA Turkmenistan, 17 August 2023 (photo credit – MFA Turkmenistan, TDH, IIRMFA)
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