Priority areas of cooperation between Turkmenistan and UNESCO discussed in Ashgabat
The meeting of the National Commission of Turkmenistan for UNESCO was held in Ashgabat on June 12 under the leadership of Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov. This is reported on the website of the Turkmen Foreign Ministry.
The meeting was attended by members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, heads and representatives of relevant ministries and departments of the country. The meeting was also attended by Golda El Khoury, Director of the UNESCO Cluster Office in Tehran, and Dmitry Shlapachenko, the UN Permanent Coordinator in Turkmenistan.
Speaking at the meeting, Rashid Meredov focused on the concrete results of the work within the framework of the Interdepartmental Commission for UNESCO, and also noted the priority areas for further activities. The meeting participants discussed issues related to Turkmenistan's membership in the Executive Council of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO for the period 2021-2023.
Special emphasis was placed on the joint work carried out to add Turkmenistan's national values to the UNESCO World Heritage Lists. The participants noted the active activity of Turkmenistan in the preparation and inclusion of multinational cultural values in the international registers of UNESCO. In this regard, it was recalled that last year three nominations – "The Art of Turkmen embroidery", "Sericulture and traditions of silk production in weaving" and "Traditions of retelling jokes of Khoja Nasreddin" were included in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mankind.
In May of this year, at the 216th session of the UNESCO Executive Council, the Collection of manuscripts by Magtymguly Pyragy was included in the UNESCO International Register "Memory of the World". The unique collection of poems by the Turkmen poet Magtymguly, consisting of more than 80 sofas, includes preserved manuscripts of his works that spread on the territory of Turkmenistan in the XVIII-XIX centuries.
In continuation of the topic, the delegates identified actions to include the nomination "The Art of breeding Turkmen Alabai" in the Representative List of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Director of the UNESCO Cluster Office, in turn, confirmed the intentions of the Organization to continue to support Turkmenistan in the implementation of joint measures aimed at promoting the national cultural heritage, contributing to the global treasury of cultural heritage.
The participants called the sphere of education and science an important area of cooperation with UNESCO. It was noted that UNESCO chairs function at the Magtymguly Turkmen State University and the S. Seydi Turkmen State Pedagogical Institute, and six schools of the country are included in the Network of UNESCO Associated Schools.
The meeting also discussed the holding of the 10th meeting of the National Commissions for UNESCO of the TURKSOY countries in Ashgabat. The event is scheduled for next year.
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