NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced that India will contribute one million dollars to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
“The fund will be used for capacity building, technical assistance and conservation of world heritage sites. This money will especially be helpful for the Global South countries,” Prime Minister Modi said while opening the 46th Session of the World Heritage Committee at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi today, in the presence of Union Minister for External Affairs, Dr S Jaishankar, Union Minister for Culture; and Tourism, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Director General of UNESCO, Ms Audrey Azoulay, and Chairperson of World Heritage Committee, Shri Vishal Sharm.
The World Heritage Committee meets annually and is responsible for managing all matters on World Heritage and deciding on sites to be inscribed on the World Heritage list. India is hosting the World Heritage Committee Meeting for the first time. The Prime Minister also took a walkthrough of various exhibitions showcas
ed on the occasion. The meeting will examine the proposals of 28 sites for inscription on the World Heritage List, and the state of conservation of 123 sites already inscribed on the World Heritage List, and on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Referring to the artifacts returned from abroad the Prime Minister mentioned that more than 350 heritage items have been brought back in recent times. ‘This return of ancient heritage artefacts is a display of global generosity and respect for history,’ the Prime Minister said.
He highlighted that North East India’s historic Maidam has been nominated to enter UNESCO’s popular World Heritage List. ‘This is India’s 43rd World Heritage Site and North East India’s first heritage to get the status of Cultural World Heritage,’ Modi said, expressing belief that Maidam with its unique cultural significance will become more popular and gain more traction after bagging a place in the list.
Along with the World Heritage Committee Meeting, the World Heritage Young Professio
nals’ Forum and World Heritage Site Managers’ Forum are also being held on the sidelines. Further, various exhibitions are also being set up at Bharat Mandapam to showcase India’s culture. The Return of Treasures Exhibition showcases some of the retrieved artefacts brought back to the country. An ‘Incredible India’ exhibition is also being set up to highlight India’s rich cultural heritage, age-old civilisation, geographical diversity, and tourism destinations along with modern developments in the field of information technology and infrastructure.
Source: Emirates News Agency
