A Memorandum of Understanding signed between the University “Gabriele d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara and the Samarkand State Architecture and Construction University (SamSACU) marks a significant step forward in academic cooperation between Italy and Uzbekistan. The agreement concluded the international seminar New Urbanization Concept, held in Samarkand on 2–3 February.

The conference took place under the patronage of high-level Uzbek and Italian institutional representatives, including Uzbekistan’s Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Kongratboy Sharipov, Minister of Construction Sherzod Xidoyatov, Samarkand regional governor Adiz Boboev, and the ambassadors of both countries. The initiative represents a turning point in relations between the Abruzzo region and Uzbekistan.

The most concrete outcome of the agreement is the opening, from the next academic year, of a new international teaching hub at the University of Chieti-Pescara’s San Salvo campus. Dedicated to engineering and architecture, the centre will launch with an English-taught degree programme in Engineering and Cultural Heritage Management, designed to attract international students, particularly from Central Asia.

The partnership also paves the way for faculty and student mobility, joint research projects, co-supervised PhDs and shared laboratories focused on urban sustainability and cultural heritage preservation.