Uzbekistan to host CITES COP20 in Samarkand, uniting 184 Parties to shape the future of wildlife trade, conservation, and sustainability during CITES’ 50th anniversary.

In 2025, Uzbekistan will host the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES COP20). 

The host country agreement was signed last year between by H.E. Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Aziz Abdukhakimov, CITES Secretary-General Ms. Ivonne Higuero and H.E. Minister of Environment of Panama Juan Carlos Navarro, which was the host of CITES CoP19 in 2022.

Uzbekistan will bring together the 184 Parties to CITES and the wide array of wildlife conservation and trade stakeholders in historic city of Samarkand. The country is home to numerous CITES-listed species, including the snow leopard, the saiga antelope and medicinal plants. 

CITES Secretary-General Higuero said: “Hosting CITES COP20 in this ancient city brings both a sense of history and a vision of the future – a future of Peace with Nature, in which international trade in wild species is well-regulated, the challenges associated with wildlife crime are significantly diminished and CITES-listed species are able to thrive in nature.”

“Hosting CITES CoP20 in Samarkand, during the 50th anniversary year of the Convention, demonstrates Uzbekistan’s commitment to international cooperation, effective CITES implementation and the future of wild fauna and flora species,”- said the CITES Secretariat. 

CITES COP20 provides the opportunity for CITES Parties to engage in discussions regarding the sustainability, legality and traceability of international wildlife trade, species conservation, and sustainable resource management.

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