A regional meeting of international experts dedicated to the inscription of the Caspian corridor of the Great Silk Road on the UNESCO World Heritage List was held in Ashgabat towards the end of 2024. The capital of Turkmenistan once again became the venue of a high-level forum attended by members of governments, national coordinators and experts of the working group of the serial transnational nomination “Caspian-Volga Silk Road Corridor” from Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, as well as UNESCO representatives.
The topic of cooperation with UNESCO has become especially relevant on the eve of 2025 that was declared as the International Year of Peace and Trust by the UN General Assembly on Turkmenistan’s initiative. The systematic development of multilateral and close ties with UNESCO is an important component of the peacemaking foreign policy strategy of independent neutral Turkmenistan.
In fact, the history of Turkmenistan’s cooperation with UNESCO, dating back to 1993 when the country became a full member of this UN body, represents the practical application of the concept of permanent neutrality of the Turkmen state. The mutually beneficial dialogue allows the country to achieve one of the main goals of cultural diplomacy, i.e. to present to the world its inexhaustible resource, including tangible and intangible heritage, and the contribution of the Turkmen people to the formation of world culture.
Partnership with this international organization has been going on for more than thirty years. In this period, Turkmenistan has acceded to 14 fundamental international instruments of UNESCO. Turkmenistan’s representation to this organization was opened in Paris. In 2020, Turkmenistan established the National Commission for UNESCO with Chinar Rustemova, a Turkmen statesman, diplomat and Hero of Turkmenistan serving as its executive secretary.
Over the past two years, Turkmenistan has widely celebrated important dates – the 30th anniversary of the country’s membership in UNESCO, as well as the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Major forums were dedicated to these significant dates, including the anniversary conference “Turkmenistan – UNESCO: Cooperation for Prosperity” at the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2023. The forum brought together representatives of the diplomatic and academic communities, creative intelligentsia, international organizations and student youth. Its participants noted the importance of the adoption of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which plays an important role in ensuring the viability of intangible cultural heritage on a global scale.
Coming back to the beginning of the thirty-year interaction and mutual commitment to the values defended by UNESCO, it is worth mentioning the “Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage”, which the country joined in 1994 and in accordance with the principles of which more than one and a half thousand historical and cultural monuments under state protection have been identified and registered in Turkmenistan.
In accordance with this document, unique sites were selected in the country and subsequently inscribed on the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List. Among them are three historical and archaeological monuments of universal value – Ancient Merv (1999), monuments of Kunya-Urgench (2005), Parthian fortresses of Nisa (2007). Inscription of each of the country’s cultural heritage sites on the UNESCO Lists is celebrated on a large scale, as a major national holiday, because each of them is a huge layer of the culture of the Turkmen people, their spiritual and historical experience. Each of them, be it a monument or traditions, is a national treasure, the highest value, which today is receiving worldwide recognition.
The constructive dialogue with UNESCO, which has reached a qualitatively new level in recent years, is evidenced by the increase in the number of nominations submitted by the country, which are inscribed on the World Heritage List and the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Turkmenistan’s accession to the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011 was an important stage of fruitful cooperation, thanks to which the following nominations were included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: the art of destan “Gerogly” (2015), the art of singing and dancing “Kushtdepdi” (2017), the Turkmen national art of carpet making (2019), dutar making craftsmanship and traditional music performing art combined with singing (2021).
In 2022, based on proposals submitted by Turkmenistan jointly with friendly countries, the Turkmen art of embroidery, sericulture and traditional production of silk for weaving, and the tradition of retelling the parables of Molla Ependi were included in this prestigious list. Among the multinational nominations is the Novruz Bayram holiday, which was inscribed on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016. In December 2023, the Akhal-Teke horse breeding art and horse decoration traditions were inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Over the years of cooperation with the support of UNESCO, a great deal of joint scientific and advisory work, monitoring and systematization of data, and the study of the cultural heritage of the Turkmen people have been carried out in the country, as evidenced by regular joint scientific conferences, training sessions and seminars for specialists in various fields.
In 2022, Turkmenistan began actively implementing the UNITWIN program that is aimed at intensively developing cooperation with UNESCO in the field of education. The opening in February 2023 of UNESCO department of “Cultural Heritage: from the Past to the Future” at the Magtymguly Turkmen State University and department of “Environmental Education for Sustainable Development” at the Seyitnazar Seydi Turkmen State Pedagogical Institute was the result of this interaction. Within the framework of the UNITWIN program, six general education schools of Turkmenistan have been inscribed on the UNESCO Associated Schools Network.
With the support of the National Commission of Turkmenistan for UNESCO and university staff, UNESCO club “Languages of the World” was opened at the Turkmen National Institute of World Languages named after Dovletmammet Azadi, and club “Culture of Peace” – at the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. In 2023, there were opened UNESCO club “Medicinal Plants of Turkmenistan – Our Health, Our Heritage” at the State Medical University of Turkmenistan named after Myrat Garryev, as well as the club “Environmental Protection – an Important Concept of Sustainable Development” at the Turkmen Agricultural Institute in Dashoguz province, and the club “Akhal-Teke Horses – Ambassadors of Peace” at the International Horse Breeding Academy named after Aba Annayev in the city of Arkadag.
The establishment of these clubs is of great importance, first and foremost from the standpoint of the comprehensive formation and development of creative and research activities and knowledge of the cultural values, traditions and customs of the native country among young people. In accordance with the approved plans, the clubs hold lectures, master classes, scientific conferences, competitions and exhibitions.
Regional projects are an important area of cooperation with UNESCO. One of them is the Silk Road Heritage Corridors. In September 2023, a decision was made to inscribe the following nominations on the UNESCO World Heritage List at Turkmenistan’s suggestion: jointly with the Republics of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan – “The Great Silk Road: Zarafshan – Karakum Corridor”; jointly with the Republics of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan – “Turanian Deserts of the Temperate Zone”, within the framework of which the country’s state nature reserves “Bereketli Garagum”, “Gaplandyr”, the State Biosphere Reserve “Repetek” and the desert ecosystems of its sanctuary “'Yerajy” have been inscribed on the list.
In April 2024, an international scientific-practical conference “Ancient Amul Fortress: Keeper of Secrets of the Past” was held in Turkmenabad on the occasion of inclusion of the Amul Fortress in the site “The Great Silk Road: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor” inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. As noted during the conference, the Zarafshan-Karakum corridor, located in the territory of three countries – Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan – was the main section of the Great Silk Road in Central Asia, connecting all routes.
The transnational serial nomination, comprising 31 monuments located in Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, reflects outstanding achievements in architecture and technology, monumental art and urban planning along this stretch of the legendary trade route from the 2nd century BC to the 16th century AD.
Unique architectural monuments – Turkmen medieval towns, fortresses, caravanserais inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List have been preserved along the Amul-Merv route. Among them are Amul-gala and Kushmeikhan settlements, Mansaf fortification, Kene-Gala, At-Tahmalaj, Akcha-Gala and Kyzydzha-Gala caravanserais.
In the future, the National Commission of Turkmenistan for UNESCO plans to work together with this structure to inscribe mud volcanoes of Balkan province, where almost half of all such volcanoes in the world are concentrated, on the UNESCO World Heritage List. A national dossier is also being prepared for the inscription of the Koytendag mountain ecosystem with its karst caves on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The 300th anniversary of the birth of Magtymguly Fraghi, the founder of Turkmen classical literature, great poet and thinker of the East is a special theme in Turkmenistan’s multifaceted co-operation with UNESCO. As a result of joint work with UNESCO experts in this area, the legacy of the great Turkmen poet, Magtymguly Fraghi, was included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register for the first time. The decision was unanimously endorsed in Paris on 24 May 2023 at the 216th session of the UNESCO Executive Board. During the jubilee year 2024, with the support of UNESCO, activities were held abroad to familiarize the world community with the invaluable literary heritage of Magtymguly. In April 2024, the exhibition “Magtymguly Fraghi and the Cultural Heritage of Turkmenistan” took place in Paris at the UNESCO headquarters.
Guided by many years of positive experience of joint work, Turkmenistan aims to continue active cooperation with the UN specialized agency for education, science and culture, for which there is a solid potential and relevant legal framework.
Speaking at the meeting of the Khalk Maslakhaty on 24 September 2024, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov touched on the topic of expanding relations with the well-known international organization, identifying priority areas of joint work with the focus on concrete results. “We will continue expanding our cooperation with UNESCO”, the President of Turkmenistan said. On this basis, he identified areas of work for inscription of a number of nominations on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. They include the art of breeding Alabay dogs, traditions of making a baby cradle – sallanchak, as well as the art of singing a lullaby. In addition, the head of the state stressed that necessary measures should be taken to inscribe the settlements of Altyn-Depe and Ulug-Depe of the Anau culture period, the archaeological site of Dehistan and the mountain ecosystem of Koytendag on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This also concerns the accession of the city of Arkadag to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network and its educational institutions to the UNESCO Associated Schools Network.
In the coming years, at the initiative of Turkmenistan, consideration will be given to the inscription on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of such nominations as “Goresh – Turkmen national wrestling”, “Felt Art of Turkmens”, “Blacksmith Craft of Turkmens”, “The Art of Breeding the Turkmen Greyhound (tazy) and Falcon” and many other documentary and natural values of the country rooted in ancient times. A proposal to nominate Turkmenistan to the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage for 2026–2030 is also under consideration.
The constructive initiatives put forward by Turkmenistan and the concrete steps taken to strengthen fruitful cooperation with UNESCO are intended to contribute to the preservation of the universal cultural heritage and strengthening of international humanitarian co-operation as an indispensable factor of universal peace and well-being.