President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov received head of the UNESCO office in the country Michael Barry Lane on 10 August at Oqsaroy residence.

Cooperation between Uzbekistan and UNESCO is developing steadily, and Michael Barry Lane has played a great role in this, the head of the state said.

"We highly value developing cooperation with UNESCO and the support this organization provides to Uzbekistan’s initiatives," the President said.

Islam Karimov awarded Michael Barry Lane, who is completing his mission in the country, with a Do`stlik (Friendship) order for the great contribution in development of Uzbekistan-UNESCO cooperation.

Michael Barry Lane expressed gratitude to President Karimov for the attention and regular support during his work in Uzbekistan. He said he was leaving the country with rich impressions and would continue contributing to development of relations between Uzbekistan and UNESCO.

UNESCO opened office in Uzbekistan in 1996, and Michael Barry Lane has headed it since then. That year, Islam Karimov visited UNESCO headquarters in Paris and participated in the events related to the 660th jubilee of Amir Temur. The President was given UNESCO medals named after Avicenna and Borobudur during that visit, UzA reported.

The final sitting of the UNESCO Executive Council’s 155th session was held in the Uzbek capital in 1998. It adopted Tashkent declaration "Culture of peace and UNESCO’s action in member states".

Jointly with UNESCO, jubilees of Amir Temur, Mirzo Ulugbek, Ahmad al-Fargoni, Ismoil al-Bukhari, Kamoliddin Behzod, as well as cities of Bukhara, Khiva, Termez and Karshi, monuments of literature "Alpomish", "Avesto", and Khorezm Mamun Academy were widely celebrated on the international level.

Cooperation with UNESCO provides opportunities for promoting Uzbek culture abroad. One of the examples is widening geography of participants of the international music festival Sharq Taronalari, held every two years in Samarkand.

About 10 projects were implemented in cooperation with UNESCO, aimed at preservation and development of cultural heritage, in particular, Shoshmakom, traditions of carpet weaving and ceramic art, etc.

As earlier UzDaily.com reported, Mrs. Anna Paolini of Italy will head office of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Uzbekistan from late July 2007.