UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay and participants of the 43rd Session of the organization’s General Conference have arrived in Samarkand.

Senior officials of the Government of Uzbekistan and Samarkand region’s Hokimiyat welcomed the high-ranking guests at the Samarkand International Airport.

For Audrey Azoulay, who has led the organization as its Director-General since 2017, this session will be the final one. The new Director-General of UNESCO, 54-year-old Khaled El-Enany from Egypt, who recently won the elections held at the 222nd session of the organization’s Executive Board, will officially take office in Samarkand.

In an interview with the Dunyo News Agency on the eve of the Samarkand Forum, Audrey Azoulay stated: “In an era when differences can overshadow dialogue, this forum must serve as a reminder that our future is interconnected. The message of the UNESCO General Conference must be clear: shared heritage and collective knowledge are the foundations upon which we can build peace and sustainable development. In Samarkand, we will speak the languages of education, culture, and science”.

For the first time in 40 years, the event is held not in Paris, but in Samarkand.

G.Khasanov, photos by A.Isroilov, UzA