Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 4 July 2019, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC), during its 43rd session in Baku, reviewed the reports submitted by the Uzbek side on the preservation of the Bukhara Historical Center and Samarkand - the Crossroads of Cultures objects.

The decisions adopted on the basis of these documents welcome the measures taken by the Uzbek leadership to protect World Heritage sites, including the government decision on a moratorium on construction work in historical cities.

In the resolution on Bukhara, UNESCO is pleased to note the creation of the Steering Committee on the World Heritage Site and the Interdepartmental Task Force to solve emerging problems.

It should be noted that the Uzbek side has done significant work on the implementation of the recommendations of the World Heritage Center and ICOMOS for Bukhara. In particular, together with international experts, the necessary documentation on the preservation of the city was compiled, which will be submitted to UNESCO in the near future.

In the document on Samarkand, WHC obliged the World Heritage Center and ICOMOS to consider the projects of the Uzbek side on infrastructure development for the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in 2022 on a “priority basis”.

This item will provide an accelerated review of future plans for the development of the city, which are currently being prepared jointly with international experts.

In the resolution of any provisions on the inclusion of Samarkand in the List of World Heritage in Danger is not included.