The 43rd Session of the UNESCO General Conference will take place in Samarkand from the end of October to the first half of November this year.

This event, which will be held outside UNESCO Headquarters in Paris for the first time in 40 years, is also significant because it coincides with the organization’s 80th anniversary.

In accordance with the Presidential Resolution of March 15, 2024, an organizing committee has been established to prepare for the conference, and the necessary measures are being taken. The issues of arrival and departure of guests, their visa, transport, and medical services, participation in key events and cultural programs are resolved in coordination with UNESCO.

On March 12, 2025, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev received UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay during a state visit to France and discussed with her practical aspects of the preparation and holding of the 43rd Session of the organization’s General Conference. By the way, its main events will be held at the Silk Road Samarkand Tourist Complex.

According to available data, more than five thousand specialists from 194 countries will take part in the 43rd Session and its events. 400 staff members will arrive from the UNESCO secretariat. Heads of state, heads of international organizations, ministers, and ambassadors will also gather in Samarkand. 1,176 rooms have been reserved for their accommodation in 8 hotels of the Silk Road Samarkand Complex and 4,178 rooms in 130 other hotels in the city. In addition, considering cultural events, excursions, and receptions in Tashkent, Bukhara, Khiva, and Shakhrisabz, necessary measures are being taken in these cities to provide delegations with transport and other services.

The session will include a UNESCO Youth Forum, a meeting of national commissions, the first-ever UNESCO-Uzbekistan Beruniy Prize 2025 ceremony, and an international conference on the role of artificial intelligence in museum work. In addition, international exhibitions, presentations of new expositions, concert programs with the participation of world stars, as well as over 150 events at historical and cultural monuments, museums, and cultural centers of Samarkand are planned.

Measures are being taken to accredit local and foreign media arriving in Samarkand to cover the 43rd Session and other events, by the established procedure, and to create the necessary conditions for them. A press center is being set up on the territory of the Silk Road Samarkand Complex.

G. Khasanov, UzA