Culture Minister meets UNESCO delegation

The Minister of Culture, Abdullah Ahmed Al-Kibsi, met today, Saturday, with the delegation of the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO), which is visiting Sana’a, headed by the Director of the Organization’s Office for the Gulf States and Yemen, Salah El-Din Khaled.

During the meeting, they reviewed the current situation of the culture sector, and what it was exposed to as a result of the aggression, including archaeological monuments, and in particular how to preserve the exceptional value of the old city of Sana’a.
Al-Kibsi noted a number of Yemeni cities and landmarks that need to be included in the World Heritage List, including Sa’ada and Shahara cities, and other cities and landmarks throughout Yemen.

He reviewed the direct and indirect damages suffered by the culture sector as a result of the aggression against Yemen, pointing to the destruction and damage to many monuments, archaeological and historical sites as a result of the aggression.

He stressed the need for the old city of Sana’a to cooperate in order to devote preservation programs, including protecting it from the effects of deteriorating sewage networks and restoring houses damaged by aggression or rain.

Al-Kibsi stressed the organization’s cooperation in stopping the smuggling and sale of Yemeni artifacts in international auctions, stressing that the ministry in Sana’a maintained the stock of its museums, and documented about 50,000 pieces out of a total of 160,000 artifacts in the National Museum.

He referred to a number of cultural projects that need cooperation from the organization, especially projects related to the protection of archaeological sites and monuments.
For his part, Khaled stated that UNESCO will implement a number of projects funded by the European Union within the cash-for-work project.

He mentioned that these projects aim to employ young people, build capacities and train them in crafts, in addition to projects to avoid the effects of floods and focus on awareness programs to preserve cultural heritage.