A SESSION OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION OF TURKMENISTAN FOR UNESCO WAS HELD

On June 12, 2023, a regular meeting of the National Commission of Turkmenistan for UNESCO was held, led by the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan R. Meredov.

The meeting was attended by members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, heads and representatives of relevant ministries and state agencies of the country. The meeting was also attended by the Director of the UNESCO Cluster Office in Tehran Golda El Khoury and the UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Dmitry Shlapachenko.

Opening the meeting, R.Meredov dwelled on the specific results of the work within the framework of the Interdepartmental Commission for UNESCO, and also noted the priority areas for further activities.

Particular emphasis was placed on the joint work carried out to include the national values of Turkmenistan in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The active work of Turkmenistan in the preparation and inclusion of multinational cultural values in the international registers of UNESCO was emphasized. In this context, it was noted that last year three nominations, in particular, “The Art of Turkmen Embroidery”, “Sericulture and traditions of silk production in weaving” and “Traditions of retelling Hodja Nasreddin’s anecdotes” were included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

In addition, in May of this year, during the 216th session of the UNESCO Executive Board, the Collection of Manuscripts of Magtymguly Fragi was included in the international register of UNESCO “Memory of the World”. This collection of poems by the great Turkmen poet Magtymguly, consisting of more than 80 diwans, includes the preserved manuscripts of his works, which were distributed on the territory of Turkmenistan in the 18th-19th centuries.

Marking the field of education and science as an important area of cooperation with UNESCO, it was noted that the UNESCO Chairs operate at the Turkmen State University named after Magtymguly and the Turkmen State Pedagogical Institute named after S.Seidi, and six schools of the country are included in the UNESCO Associated Schools Network.

During the meeting, a constructive exchange of views took place on specific areas of the upcoming cooperation agenda of Turkmenistan within the framework of UNESCO. In particular, the participants of the meeting discussed issues related to the membership of Turkmenistan in the Executive Board of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO for the period 2021-2023.

An exchange of views was held on holding the 10th meeting of the National Commissions for UNESCO of the TURKSOY countries next year in Ashgabat.

Important steps were also noted to include the nomination “The Art of Breeding Turkmen Alabay” in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO.

The Director of the UNESCO Cluster Office, in turn, confirmed the Organization's intention to continue to support Turkmenistan in the implementation of joint measures aimed at promoting the national cultural heritage, which contributes to the global treasury of cultural asset.