[24/January/2011]

SAYON,Jan.24(Saba)- Undersecretary of Hadramout province Fahd al-Ajam discussed on Monday with an expert of World Heritage Organization, a subsidiary of UNESCO ways to increase interest in the condition of the historical city of Shibam.

It is worthy to mention that the historical city of Shibam is on the Yemeni cities registered in the World Heritage List.

At the meeting, the two sides touched on a number of issues concerning to preservation of Shibam's unique architectural nature.

The meeting, attended by specialists at the infrastructure project of the city of Shibam, dealt with risks of the protection project that would be implemented by UNESCO in the city, as well as the what should be done at the local level in raising the social awareness among the population of the city and establishing procedures to ensure the sustainability of conservation efforts.

Al-Ajam thanked the UNESCO for assisting the government to increase its interest in the conditions of the city of Shibam, appreciating efforts made by the German GTZ in order to preserve the city.

He reviewed some prospects to broaden the UNESCO's activities in the rest of historical cities in the Hadramout's Valley.

For his part, the UNESCO's expert praised the good efforts exerted at the official and popular levels to preserve the city of Shibam and the surrounding sites.

He stressed the importance of the sustainability of efforts in order to maintain all unique architectural landmarks in the city, which is a property of the human heritage.

BA

Saba