Riyadh, January 19, 2023, SPA — The General Supervisor of the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY), Ambassador Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber, has met in Riyadh with a delegation from the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH), headed by the Executive Director of the Foundation, Valéry Freeland, in the presence of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture for International Cultural Relations Eng. Fahd bin Abdulrahman Al-Kanaan.
Ambassador Al Jaber stressed during the meeting that the support and efforts exerted in preserving the culture and historical heritage in Yemen come as an extension of the Kingdom’s pioneering role in preserving the history and antiquities of the Arabian Peninsula and the Arab and Islamic countries, and within the framework of the Kingdom’s interest in preserving the tangible and intangible heritage in Yemen, in addition to helping the Yemeni government to protect the Yemeni heritage from extinction.
He added: “Supporting culture in Yemen is important because of culture’s effective contribution to supporting development. It also has an important and indispensable role for any sustainable development, because preservation of cultural heritage has many dimensions, including economic, social and environmental.”
The meeting discussed the program’s support for culture and preserving the historical heritage in Yemen, including a project to restore Seiyun Palace in Hadramout governorate, funded by the program and implemented by UNESCO, and aims to contribute to the support of the Yemeni government to protect antiquities and historical areas at risk, as well as a craft factory project in Socotra Governorate, in support of the economic empowerment of Yemeni women and the preservation of the intangible cultural heritage, benefiting 114 direct beneficiaries and 570 indirect beneficiaries.
The celebration of the Mehri language day was also discussed with the participation of “UNESCO” as a contribution to reviving the Mehri language and preserving it from extinction, and the program for the protection of historical libraries in Yemen, in which work is being done with the Yemeni government represented by the Yemeni Ministry of Culture and in cooperation with the King Abdulaziz House to preserve Yemeni heritage through preservation of documents and manuscripts, including the project to protect and preserve the historical Al-Ahqaf Library in the city of Tarim in Hadramout, through digitizing, processing and restoring them, and building the capacities of the Yemeni people to preserve these documents and the history of Yemen.
–SPA
21:41 LOCAL TIME 18:41 GMT
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