Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Council of Heads of states of the CIS at a meeting on 13 October decided to implement the Interstate program “Cultural Capitals of the Commonwealth” in the Republic of Uzbekistan, declaring the city of Samarkand the Cultural Capital of the Commonwealth in 2024. This was reported by the press service of the CIS Executive Committee.

The governments of the CIS member states were instructed to provide assistance in organizing the participation of representatives of their states in the Program events.

The heads of states also instructed the Council for Humanitarian Cooperation, the Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation, the Council for Cultural Cooperation of the CIS Member States, other interested sectoral cooperation bodies and the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth to consider the possibility of supporting cultural events in the city of Samarkand.

Samarkand is one of the oldest cities in the world, became the first capital of Soviet Uzbekistan in 1924, and is the third largest city in the republic (as of 1 January 2023, 573.2 thousand people were registered in the city).

Today in Samarkand there are 14 archaeological monuments, 410 architectural monuments, 23 sights, 36 monumental monuments, and in total there are 483 objects of material and cultural heritage in the city. Most of the historical buildings date back to the 15th–17th centuries, when Samarkand became the capital of the Timurid power.

In 2001, the historical part of the city of Samarkand was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List under the name “Samarkand - a crossroads of cultures.”

The city is home to numerous scientific, pedagogical and cultural organizations.