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UNESCO has added Italian cuisine, Egypts national dish "koshari" and Kyrgyzstans traditional drink "maksym" to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, following a series of decisions taken at an intergovernmental committee meeting in New Delhi, India.
Governments in Rome, Cairo and Bishkek have all presented the listings as fresh recognition of how food and drink can carry cultural identity, memory and daily practice across generations.
The Italian government announced that Italian cuisine has been inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list after deliberations at the organization's intergovernmental committee sessions in New Delhi. Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani attended the meetings in the Indian capital and later shared the outcome on the U.S.-based social media platform X.
Tajani said he was proud to announce from the UNESCO conference in New Delhi that Italian cuisine had been added to the Intangible Cultural Heritage list. He described the decision as an extraordinary recognition of flavors, traditions and creativity that bring generations together and highlight the value of the land, while making Italy unique in the world.
The foreign minister also underlined that this success reflects his government's broader commitment to protect the country's agri-food heritage and to promote Italian cuisine, and the wider agri-food supply chain as a tool for dialogue, cooperation, solidarity and the search for peace.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, speaking in a video message shared on X, called Italian cuisine the country's strongest ambassador and pointed out that Italy had become the first state to receive such recognition for its cuisine. She stressed that, for Italians, cooking is not simply food or a collection of recipes, but something much broader that includes culture, tradition, labor and wealth. Meloni said this achievement had been won together with the Italian people, citizens living abroad and everyone around the world who appreciates the nation's culture, identity and way of life, before concluding, “Long live Italian cuisine, long live Italy.”
Industry representatives in Italy also welcomed the inscription of Italian cuisine on the UNESCO list. Luigi Scordamaglia, chief executive officer of Filiera Italia, which represents all companies producing food in the country, said the recognition at UNESCO amounted to a success for the Italian production and supply chain.
Reports in the Italian press, citing data from the “Deloitte FoodService Market Monitor 2025”, noted that the global value of Italian cuisine reached €251 billion ($293.31 billion), an increase of about 5% compared to the previous year. Commentators in these outlets underlined that entering the UNESCO list marked a first of its kind for a national cuisine. The Italian government has been running an international campaign to inscribe Italian cuisine on the list since 2023.
Egypt has also secured a new inscription for its food culture. The country's Culture Ministry announced that UNESCO added koshari, one of Egypt's national dishes, to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity for 2025.
In a written statement, the ministry said UNESCO had officially registered koshari on the 2025 list. Culture Minister Ahmed Fuad Henu expressed his satisfaction that koshari had become the 11th element recorded for Egypt on UNESCOs intangible heritage lists. He described this as fresh confirmation of the inspirational power of Egyptian heritage and of the respect that the international community shows toward it.
Henu said the inclusion of koshari reflects the importance attached to the daily life practices of Egyptians and argued that the dish forms an inseparable part of Egyptian identity. He drew attention to the fact that koshari is the first Egyptian food item to be registered by UNESCO and added that, in the coming years, more elements related to social and cultural practices transmitted from generation to generation are expected to be inscribed.
Nahle Imam, adviser for Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Egyptian Culture Ministry, addressed the UNESCO committee after the registration of koshari and thanked members for their decision. She explained that the nomination file had been prepared in close cooperation with individuals and groups who keep this element alive in their daily lives.
Imam said this process helped bring out the diversity and richness of koshari and underlined that the success represented the result of years of effort by those who practice and sustain the tradition. She thanked “koshari restaurants and every Egyptian woman who keeps traditional methods of preparing koshari alive and passes them on to her children.”
Koshari enjoys broad popularity inside Egypt and is also among the dishes most frequently chosen by tourists and visiting foreign officials, who often treat it as an accessible entry point into the countrys culinary culture.
In Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan has gained new recognition for its drinking culture. The country's Ministry of Culture, Information and Youth Policy announced that UNESCO has added maksym, a traditional national beverage, to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
According to the ministry, the decision was also taken during the Intergovernmental Committee meetings on safeguarding intangible heritage in New Delhi. Maksym, also known as jarma, is a lightly sour drink made mainly from barley and wheat. It is especially widespread in open-air markets during the summer months and is typically served alongside national dishes such as besh barmak and lagman.
Officials in Bishkek presented the registration as part of a wider effort to protect and promote Kyrgyz practices that are tied to everyday life, hospitality and seasonal rhythms, noting that maksym forms a familiar part of daily consumption for many people in the country.
The listing of maksym adds to a growing group of Kyrgyz elements present on UNESCOs intangible heritage lists. Other entries already recorded for Kyrgyzstan include the “Manas”, “Semetey” and “Seitek” epics, “Ala kiyiz” and “Sirdak” felt carpets, and “Kok Boru”, a traditional horseback game.
By securing recognition for maksym, Kyrgyz authorities have underlined that the country sees its culinary and drinking practices as closely connected to its narrative traditions, textile crafts and equestrian culture, which are already reflected in these earlier inscriptions.
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