Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- At the 37th meeting of the TURKSOY Permanent Council, which was held in the city of Osh (Kyrgyzstan), a unanimous decision was made to declare Khiva as the “Cultural Capital of the Turkic World” in 2020, Dunyo news agency reported.

During his participation in September 2018 at the VI Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States in the Kyrgyz city of Cholpon-ate, the President of our country Shavkat Mirziyoyev took the initiative to nominate ancient Khiva for the “Cultural Capital of the Turkic World” in 2020. The head of our state also emphasized that this step will contribute to strengthening fraternal bonds between peoples, the development of economic and trade ties, and the prosperity of international tourism.

It should be noted that the International Organization of Turkic Culture TURKSOY positions itself as an organization that is engaged in the preservation, study and popularization at the international level of spiritual values and historical and cultural heritage of Turkic-speaking peoples.

At annual meetings of the Permanent Council of this organization, decisions are made to declare one of the cities of the Turkic-speaking countries the “Cultural Capital of the Turkic World” in order to attract international attention to its cultural and tourist development.

The TURKSOY tradition of declaring cities the cultural capitals of the Turkic world began in 2012. The first city to receive this status was the capital of Kazakhstan - Astana. Then in 2013 the relay passed to the Turkish city of Eskisehir. The city of Kazan was elected the cultural capital of 2014. Then, in 2015, the Turkmen city of Mary became its successor, which subsequently passed the baton to Azerbaijani Sheki. In 2017, the city of Turkestan in Kazakhstan was awarded this title, in 2018 - the city of Kastamonu in Turkey. And in the past year, Osh in Kyrgyzstan was the “Cultural Capital of the Turkic World”. On the initiative of our President and in accordance with the decision of the Permanent Council of TURKSOY, the ancient city of Khiva in 2020 was proclaimed the "Cultural Capital of the Turkic World."

In the coming year, within the framework of the international program "Khiva - The Cultural Capital of the Turkic World 2020", a whole complex of social and cultural events will be held aimed at singing the magnificent history and dynamic modernity of this unusual city, its role and place in the Turkic world and civilization. Khiva will become a kind of visiting card of the entire Turkic-speaking world, a center of attraction for tourists, youth, artists and official representatives.

“Khiva is an amazing historical city, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, where every stone and column tells about the richness of culture and the high level of art of our ancestors,” said TURKSOY Secretary General D. Kaseinov. “As part of the organization’s activities, we intend to popularize the Open Air Museum project to the whole world and turn it into a real center of attraction.”