News portal “see.news” and the leading Egyptian newspaper “Al-Ahram” have published articles about the upcoming International Sister Cities Forum in Samarkand and the Imam al-Bukhari Complex near Samarkand, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.
According to the “see.news” portal, International Sister Cities Forum will be held in Samarkand on July 24-25th, 2026, aimed at expanding Uzbekistan's international cooperation, strengthening partnerships between cities, and developing public diplomacy. The forum's program will include an international scientific and practical conference on urban cooperation, panel sessions and roundtables, ceremonies for signing memorandums and agreements between sister cities, presentations on public diplomacy and interregional interaction, cultural and educational events for foreign delegations, study tours of Samarkand's historical monuments, as well as exhibitions showcasing the investment, tourism and cultural potential of Uzbekistan's regions.
“Al-Ahram” correspondent, Muhammad Abdulsalam Sabrin, dedicated a report to the Imam al-Bukhari Complex near Samarkand, having visited it as part of the international scientific conference “The Mosque of the Authentic Musnad of Imam Bukhari: The Book of the Nation”. The author describes the complex as an integrated scientific and spiritual city spanning an area of about 450,000 square meters, featuring a mosque with four 75-meter minarets, an interactive museum consisting of nine pavilions with rare manuscripts and maps of Imam al-Bukhari’s travels, as well as an infrastructure designed to receive delegations from across the Muslim world. According to the journalist, the complex's capacity after reconstruction has increased from 12,000 to nearly 65,000 visitors per day and he described the site not merely as an architectural monument, but as a message of tolerance and the values of coexistence among peoples.
On the initiative of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Pakistan, jointly with the Babur International Public Foundation, a visit of a delegation of Uzbek historians and Babur scholars took place, reports Dunyo IA.
Purpose of the trip is to study the historical and cultural heritage of Babur and the Baburids, historical sources, manuscripts, exhibits and artifacts preserved in Pakistan, as well as to develop scientific and cultural cooperation between the institutions of the two countries.
In Lahore, the delegation visited the Lahore Museum, Islamic Gallery, research institutions and historical monuments of the Baburid era. Issues of scientific and academic cooperation were discussed with the leadership of the University of the Punjab. Jointly with the Baburid Heritage Center at the university, a scientific and practical conference dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the Baburid dynasty was held.
In Islamabad, the Uzbek scholars visited the National Language Promotion Department of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam University, Allama Iqbal Open University, National Library of Pakistan and a number of scientific institutions, where they familiarized themselves with manuscripts, exhibits of the Baburid era, and other historical sources.
Delegation was also received by the Coordinator General of the OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary.
The sides discussed deepening the study and preservation of the Baburid heritage, as well as its popularization within scientific circles and among the general public. An agreement was reached to hold a representative international scientific and practical conference.
The main event of the visit was the conference titled “Zahiriddin Muhammad Babur: Shared Civilizational Heritage and a Bridge of Uzbek-Pakistani Relations”.
Conference was attended by Farah Naz Akbar, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of National Heritage and Culture of Pakistan; Alisher Tukhtaev, Ambassador of Uzbekistan; Ramzan Mughal, Head of the Babur Forum in Pakistan; as well as historians, Babur scholars and young researchers.
Participants emphasized the importance of the joint study of the historical and cultural heritage of Babur and the Baburids and the development of scientific ties between Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
As part of the further program of the delegation, research on a number of historical monuments of the Baburid era in the Punjab province is scheduled.