RIYADH: Prince Sultan bin Salman, secretary-general of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), and visiting Director General of UNESCO Koichiro Matsuura jointly opened the exhibition of nominated and registered Saudi UNESCO World Heritage Sites here Tuesday night.
Speaking on this occasion, Prince Sultan said: “The Kingdom’s history and heritage are very rich and its antiquities are really valuable by any canon of judgment.”
He said that a UNESCO delegation led by Matsuura visited the historic zone around the town of Al-Diriya near Riyadh.
A UNESCO team has been in the Kingdom for the last two days to look at sites penciled in for inclusion in the list of World Heritage Sites and other historical features in Saudi Arabia.
The delegation has looked at the proposed heritage sites of the Turaif Quarter in Al-Diriya near Riyadh and the historic Balad district of Jeddah.
The delegation will also visit Madain Saleh, which became the Kingdom’s first registered World Heritage Site last year. The historical areas of Riyadh and Jeddah have been placed on a tentative list.
Matsuura said he had very productive meetings with Prince Sultan and Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, minister of education, during his stay in Riyadh.
He said his meeting with Saudi officials mainly focused on the existing cooperation between the Kingdom and UNESCO.
Matsuura said the Kingdom has several attractive and historically important sites.
A SCTA statement released on this occasion said Saudi Arabia is a member country of the United Nations agency and Matsuura’s visit as head of the 12-member delegation will underscore the role the Kingdom has been playing in preservation of culture and heritage sites.
