DUSHANBE, 20.05.2022 (NIAT Khovar) – Yesterday, the 29th meeting of the Ministers of Culture of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was held in Tashkent under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan.

It was attended by the State Minister of Culture of India Arjun Ram Megwal, Minister of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan Dauren Abaev, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of China Zhao Quan, Minister of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy of Kyrgyzstan Azamat Zhamankulovch, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Federal Education, Vocational Training, National Heritage and Culture of Pakistan Sajjad Ahmed, Russian Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova, Minister of Culture of Tajikistan Zulfiya Davlatzoda, Minister of Culture of Uzbekistan Ozodbek Nazarbekov, and SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming.

The meeting focused on the development of cooperation in the field of culture and art over the past period.

The officials exchanged views on the implementation of the agreements reached within the framework of past meetings.

The role of culture and its positive impact on supporting the population during the pandemic was noted. In particular, they expressed interest in developing joint projects in the field of cinema, theater, librarianship, and museums in order to strengthen mutual understanding between people, preserve the diversity of cultures, and disseminate knowledge about the traditions, customs and history of the nations within the SCO space.

Particular attention was paid to the implementation of joint cultural events. The officials stressed the need to further improve the mechanisms for cooperation with the SCO observer states and partners in the SCO dialogue in the field of culture and art, both on a bilateral and multilateral basis.

The parties welcomed the decision taken during the meeting of the heads of tourism administrations of the SCO member states held on May 19-20, 2022 in Tashkent to approve the candidacy of the city of Varanasi (India) for obtaining the status of tourist and cultural capital of the SCO countries.

The parties expressed their readiness to facilitate in the organization of art festivals, competitions, forums, scientific conferences, and other types of cultural events in order to promote exchange and cooperation in the field of preserving the cultural and historical heritage, as well as to establish cooperation in the educational field, to promote training and retraining of personnel in the field of culture and art.

The parties approved the draft memorandum between the SCO authorized bodies on cooperation in the field of museum business and asked the Secretariat of the Organization to submit it for consideration by the Council of National Coordinators of the SCO member states to resolve the issue of signing it in the prescribed manner under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan in 2022.

An agreement was reached to hold the next meeting in 2023 in India. The specific dates and venue of the meeting will be agreed upon through diplomatic channels through the SCO Secretariat.

The meeting of the Ministers of Culture is held once a year.