The second day of the 12th Sharq Taronalari International Music Festival-2019, which started yesterday in Samarkand, featured the International Research and Practice Conference on Prospects for the Development of Traditional Music of the East, taking place at the Registan Plaza Hotel. Held as part of the Samarkand Festival, these conferences have become a good tradition. This year, conference participants from many countries gathered to discuss key issues of the history and development of music of Eastern countries that are linked by age-old cultural ties. During a joint press conference organized prior to the plenary meeting, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Sayfullaev and Mayor of Samarkand Boburmirzo Oblakulov told about the underlying concept and cultural-educational role of the Sharq Taronalari Festival and the concurrent scientific forum, as well as responded to journalists’ questions. Arslan Salykhov, a head of the Department of Music and Folk Art at the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan, who made a report on Turkmen music at the conference, spoke about the importance of keeping national musical traditions alive and popularizing them. As highlighted, the development of modern culture is impossible without promoting the mutual enrichment of nations by sharing their spiritual and artistic heritage. The subject covered by the speaker from our country aroused keen interest at the forum. Among those attending the conference are leading music experts from Uzbekistan, guest speakers from Great Britain, France, the USA, India, Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, South Korea, and many other countries, who explore theoretical and practical issues concerning the history of music and performing arts. The two-day conference will also feature round-table discussions and exchanges of music-related books and publications. The International Conference will end on August 28.