The Bureau took note of the information provided by the Secretariat and the interventions made by the Delegates of Morocco and Lebanon addressing the importance of awareness-building of those responsible for religious properties in the Arab region and their good conservation. The Moroccan Delegate proposed a new version of the recommendation concerning this property.
Consequently, the Bureau encouraged the national authorities to present a strategy and a conservation programme of Historic Cairo, to the next session of the Committee. With regard to the Al-Azhar Mosque, the Bureau considered that this sanctuary is a major monument of Arab-Islamic civilisation and insisted on the importance to ensuring the use of appropriate techniques for its preservation. The Bureau requested the authorities to present a detailed technical report on the work in progress at the Al-Azhar Mosque before 15 September 1998, for submission to the World Heritage Committee. Finally, the Bureau. requested the Secretariat to obtain the Egyptian authorities agreement to send a UNESCO mission to the various parties concerned to examine the most appropriate conservation measures for the Al-Azhar Mosque.