Speaking during Chief Executive John Lee’s visit to Central Asia, Ng said the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday, covering cooperation in research, exhibitions, education and talent training.
Ng added that preliminary talks on the exhibition exchange have already taken place.
“We will bring collections from the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan to Hong Kong,” he said.
“On the other hand, we will bring our collections from the Hong Kong Palace Museum – including our ancient gold artefacts and textiles – to exhibit here in Uzbekistan.”
He said the timeline is still subject to further negotiations between the two museum teams and depends on their respective schedules, as well as any other exhibition commitments for the Uzbek artefacts.
Ng described Uzbekistan as an ancient civilisation and a “cultural hub” along the historic Silk Road and said the collaboration aims to bring Central Asian history to Hong Kong audiences.
“We hope to take this opportunity to present the history of Central Asia, the history of Uzbekistan and the history of the Silk Road through an exhibition in Hong Kong,” he said.
He also emphasised that the initiative supports both the Belt and Road Initiative and Hong Kong’s development into a centre for Chinese and international cultural and artistic exchanges.
He said this marks the first time a Hong Kong museum has cooperated with a Central Asian counterpart.
“Central Asian museums don’t know much about Hong Kong’s museums either,” Ng said, adding that he has invited Uzbek museum directors to visit Hong Kong in the coming year to share experiences and expertise.
“Together, we can advance the development of our respective cultural and museum sectors more prosperously,” Ng said.
