UN launches Silk Road City Awards programme

Under the Silk Road Initiative (SRI), the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) have jointly launched the UN Silk Road City Awards programme. The objective of the initiative is to improve policy and the legal trading conditions, to attract investment into the area and to promote tourism.

The scheme was established in 2003, and involves China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Over the coming years, there is an intention to expand the participation to other countries along the ancient Silk Road. The programme’s primary goal is to help the region reach Millennium Development Goals for promoting growth and equality and reducing poverty.

As part of the tourism development component of the scheme, the UN Silk Road City Awards were launched, constituting the first programme of its kind to be instituted by the UN for the Silk Road region.

The current plan is for the awards programme to be held biennially, honouring cities in participating countries with the title of UN Silk Road City that demonstrate their ties to the historic Silk Road and how their culture and traditions have been a part of their development and modernisation.

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