The bilateral agreement was signed by the Director of the Cultural Heritage Agency Bahodir Abdikarimov and the US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Uzbekistan Jonathan Henick.
"This agreement serves as a basis for the development of cooperation between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United States in preventing illegal trafficking and the return of museum objects and cultural values," the Agency's director said in his speech.
The agreement establishes restrictions on the import into the United States of objects of archaeological or ethnological significance that have been identified as being under threat of looting and included in a special list. It also provides training and advanced training of specialists in this area, creates the basis for joint exhibitions aimed at popularizing the material cultural heritage between the two countries.
"Today is a historic day, because Uzbekistan became the first country in Central Asia to sign an agreement on cultural values with the United States. In addition to Uzbekistan, 25 other countries have signed similar agreements with the United States. Protecting cultural heritage, art and painting is not an easy task. Therefore, this agreement is a very important step today. The US government has allocated $1 million for the protection and restoration of cultural heritage sites in Uzbekistan. We are interested in cooperating with your efforts to protect the cultural heritage of Uzbekistan and show the world its rich history," Jonathan Henick said.
