BACA President meets AKDN Chairman, ALIPH Foundation Executive Director

Dubai, Dec. 11 (BNA): Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA), met His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan, Chairman of Environment and Climate Committee at the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), on the sidelines of their participation in the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai, UAE.

BACA President stressed the need to integrate culture into the sustainable development agenda, given its essential role in building societies and cementing national identity.

HH Prince Rahim Aga Khan underlined the importance of innovative solutions in the field of environment and climate, highlighting the possibility of investing in culture as a tributary to achieving comprehensive and sustainable development.

The two sides discussed cooperation in fields of mutual interest, including the contribution of culture to sustainable development and its role in enhancing environmental action efforts, as well as in dealing with the repercussions of climate change.

They emphasised the commitment of both BACA and AKDN to supporting international efforts to confront the challenges of development and climate change in a way that reflects the common vision towards a more environment-friendly future.

BACA President also met in Dubai Valerie Freeland, Executive Director of International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH Foundation).

The meeting is within the framework of the ongoing efforts of the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH) to strengthen the mechanisms of joint cooperation with the international institutions concerned with preserving cultural heritage in Arab countries.

Cooperation between ARC-WH and ALIPH has achieved many successes, the first of which was the project to support the "Archaeological City of Shibam and its Wall" site in Yemen, which is registered on the World Heritage List.

They discussed ways to enhance existing cooperation between ARC-WH and ALIPH, including the possibility of supporting efforts to preserve a number of World Heritage sites in Arab countries suffering from crises.