Saudi Arabia will host this year’s World Heritage Committee meeting in September after being overwhelmingly chosen as the group’s head. Riyadh, which is home to Al-Turaif, a Saudi Arabian World Heritage Site, will be the committee’s host city from September 10 to 25.
Princess Haifa bint Abdulaziz Al-Mogrin, the permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to Unesco and the head of the committee in charge of the organization’s programmes and external relations, will preside over the World Heritage Committee.
The declaration was made at the World Heritage Committee’s 18th extraordinary meeting in Paris, when it was also decided to include historical sites in Yemen, Lebanon, and Ukraine on the Unesco’s List of World Heritage in Danger.
The city of Saudi Arabia and my home, Riyadh, will host a historic summit of world leaders in September of this year, Princess Haifa tweeted shortly after the announcement.
Princess Haifa also said: “I am proud today of accrediting Saudi Arabia as chairman of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, and for hosting the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee for the first time in September.” She said the move was a result of the kingdom’s role in supporting heritage, in line with the goals of the World Heritage Committee.
Meanwhile, the permanent delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Unesco tweeted: “A dedicated Unesco member state since the very beginning, this decisive move is an opportunity for the kingdom to further promote the protection, promotion and preservation of cultural heritage.”
The General Assembly elect’s delegates from 21 states to the Unesco World Heritage Committee, which reviews applications from nations looking to add their sites to the World Heritage List. The 45th extended session, which was initially slated to take place in Russia in June, was postponed as a result of the war in Ukraine.