World Heritage Centre and Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture sign Cooperation Agreement

On 12 June 2009, the Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Francesco Bandarin and the Director-General of the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA),  Halit Eren signed a cooperation agreement in Istanbul, Turkey, within the framework of the UNESCO-IRCICA Mou signed in 2005 by the Heads of the two Organizations.

The World Heritage Centre and IRCICA have cooperated regularly since 1996 on areas relating to the safeguarding of cultural heritage in Islamic countries, as well as cultural policies, international cooperation, scholarly research, documentation and training.

In the framework of the agreement, a Conference on the conservation of Islamic cities is planned for 2010, as well as conferences on conservation principles and theory for development of Islamic sites.

An inventory of World Heritage sites in the Islamic world and the establishment of conservation training programs are planned, as well as several other restoration and rehabilitation projects in Egypt, Mali, Senegal, Sudan, Yemen, and other countries.