Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 16-31 July, a delegation of Uzbekistan, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Aziz Abdukhakimov, in the videoconference format, took part in the expanded 44th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC). The event took place in Fuzhou (China) in a "hybrid" mode.

The Uzbek side held a detailed presentation of the large-scale transformations being carried out in the republic to preserve, augment and promote the rich cultural heritage of the republic. Commitment was expressed to the implementation of all agreements in this area reached at the meetings of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev with the Director General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay.

The delegation ensured the adoption of favorable decisions for the Uzbek side regarding the World Cultural Heritage sites "Historical Center of Shakhrisabz", "Samarkand - the Crossroads of Cultures", "Historical Center of Bukhara" and "Ichan-Kala", as well as the multinational natural heritage site "Western Tien Shan" with the participation of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

All decisions were taken without a vote with the unanimous support of the WHC member states of the positions of the Uzbek side. This was the result of an intensive coordinated and well-coordinated work carried out over the past year with the leadership of UNESCO, the World Heritage Center (WHC) and advisory bodies (ICOMOS, ICCROM) in the framework of promoting the efforts made under the leadership of the Head of State in the field of protecting the country's cultural heritage.

It should be noted that this issue was also discussed with the Director-General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay as part of her participation in the opening ceremony of the national pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale on 20 May.

The decisions made separate appeals and requests to the Republic of Uzbekistan, mainly regarding the preparation of city master plans and comprehensive plans for the management of facilities, the full implementation of previous recommendations of advisory bodies and monitoring missions.

During the session, an updated Tentative List of New Sites in Uzbekistan was also approved for possible inclusion in the World Heritage List within the framework of subsequent cycles. The preliminary list consists of 32 cultural, natural and cultural / natural (mixed) heritage sites located throughout the republic.

The largest number of attractions in comparison with other states of the region: Russia - 28, Ukraine - 17, Tajikistan - 17, Kazakhstan - 14, Turkmenistan - 10, Azerbaijan - 10, Armenia - 4, Kyrgyzstan - 2.