Kyrgyzstan to promote heritage internationally through UNESCO membership

President Sooronbay Jeenbekov (Kabar)

Bishkek: Kyrgyzstan will use its election to the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to disseminate internationally the heritage of Manas the Great and [internationally renowned Kyrgyz writer] Chyngyz Aitmatov, President Sooronbay Jeenbekov has said.

Kyrgyzstan was last month elected for the first time in its history to the Executive Board, UNESCO’s governing body, at the 40th UNESCO General Conference in Paris.

Kyrgyzstan came second among the Asia-Pacific states that run for membership on the Executive Board for 2019-2023, securing 157 of the 180 country votes.

“This is a great opportunity for the dissemination of spiritual heritage in international arena,” Jeenbekov told representatives of the creative intelligentsia at the National Academy of “Manas” and Chyngyz Aitmatov.

Every effort will be made to use this opportunity, he added.

Kyrgyzstan became a member of UNESCO in 1992. In 2017, it was elected member of the World Heritage Committee for the first time in its history.