Azerbaijan’s FM meets Uzbek president, hails successful hosting of UNESCO conference

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov held a meeting with Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Samarkand on the sidelines of the 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its official X page that Minister Bayramov congratulated Uzbekistan on the successful hosting and excellent organisation of the global forum.

“Minister Bayramov sincerely congratulated brotherly Uzbekistan on the successful hosting and excellent organization of this prestigious global gathering,” the statement read.

The 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference opened on October 30 in Samarkand — the first held outside Paris in nearly four decades — coinciding with the organisation’s 80th anniversary.

More than 2,800 delegates from 190 countries gathered in the ancient Uzbek city, whose historic centre is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev delivered the opening address, joined by the presidents of Serbia and Slovakia, Aleksandar Vučić and Peter Pellegrini. The session will feature over 150 events, including 20 initiated by Uzbekistan.

The conference comes amid global turbulence and UNESCO’s forthcoming leadership change. Former Egyptian tourism minister Khaled al-Anani is set to be confirmed as director-general, succeeding Audrey Azoulay, who highlighted the organisation’s financial and political recovery during her eight-year tenure.

Azoulay noted that UNESCO had doubled its resources and expanded its engagement with modern challenges such as artificial intelligence, education reform and technology ethics. The United States’ decision to withdraw from the organisation by 2026 underscores the geopolitical strains affecting multilateral cooperation.

Delegates in Samarkand will discuss issues ranging from discrimination in education and literacy to the preservation of cultural heritage, social sciences and environmental research.

By Aghakazim Guliyev