On December 19 of this year, representatives of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) visited “Silk Road” International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage. First, the guests familiarized with the new campus of Samarkand Academy of Tourism as a joint project with UNWTO, as well as with the mission of further development of tourism and hospitality industry in Uzbekistan and Central Asia. After that, Prof.Artem Kulikov and the Vice-Rector, Prof.Joseph Hoffman presented a full overview of the strategy and plan of the new academy. During the dialog, Japan agreed with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to establish common ideas, visions and further opportunities, and cooperative relations from next year, as well as to develop a wide range of projects in this field.