KUWAIT: Kuwait, represented by the National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature (NCCAL), hosted on Sunday the 16th preparatory meeting of the Committee of Arab Experts for the World Natural Cultural Heritage. The Acting Secretary-General of the NCCAL Dr Muhammad Al-Jassar said in a speech that the meeting aims to unify efforts for an Arab position in presenting cultural and natural heritage files at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Al-Jassar added that the two-day meeting will discuss three files for Arab cities before presenting them at the meeting of the The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) scheduled to be held in Riyadh in mid-September. He pointed out that the meeting will discuss the file of the (Uruq Bani Maarid) Natural Reserve in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the file of (Tell Al-Sultan) in the State of Palestine, and the file of (Djerba) Island in the Republic of Tunisia as a world heritage.

He pointed out that the meeting will also discuss heritage sites in Arab countries that are at risk, especially those located in Palestine as a result of the Zionist occupation. It will also hold a panel discussion on the reality of world heritage in Arab countries. Heritage expert and representative of the ALECSO Dr Fathi Gray said, ”Likewise, the organization is aware of the support that heritage in the Arab countries needs in regional and international forums to embrace universality and issue lists of the heritage of humanity alongside the heritage of other peoples.

Acting Secretary-General of the NCCAL Dr Muhammad Al-Jassar (center) addresses the meeting. - KUNA

Gray indicated that one of ALECSO’s priorities is to preserve, define and study the world heritage in the Arab countries, indicating that the Arab world contains an authentic and diverse archaeological and architectural heritage, a quarter of which is registered on the list of endangered cultural heritage. Gray expressed thanks to Kuwait for hosting the annual preparatory meeting in order to enhance joint Arab action and world heritage in particular.

Director of Community Partnership and Ecotourism in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Athar Al-Khalawi, said in a statement to KUNA on the sidelines of the meeting that the Kingdom’s participation in this meeting came to present the special file on the Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve, explaining that this file was prepared with national efforts from all stakeholders. Al-Khalawi explained that Uruq Bani Ma’arid, considered one of the largest reserves in the Kingdom, is located in the western-southern part of it.

It includes two areas: Najran is about 13 square kilometers and represents an integrated ecosystem, and its name reflects the shape of the sand in it. Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Governmental Affairs in Qatar, Dr Fatima Al-Sulaiti, said that the meeting would strengthen Arab files and cultural heritage, unify and coordinate opinions among Arab countries, raise special problems regarding the endangered heritage, and seek to find solutions. Al-Sulaiti indicated that Qatar has a file registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List, which is the castle Al-Zubarah which is one of the most prominent military historical forts. Qatar is seeking to include another file on the list, which is Khor Al-Udayd.

For his part, advisor to the Minister of Heritage and Tourism in the Sultanate of Oman, Sultan Al-Bakri, told KUNA that the Sultanate is with the Arab ranks and supports all the files being discussed. At the meeting, Al-Bakri stated that the Sultanate supports the inclusion of the files presented at the meeting from Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Palestine on the list of tangible heritage, and also supports the files of Arab countries that seek to remove their sites from the list of danger, such as Syria, Yemen and Libya. – KUNA