A productive meeting was held between Mr. Ahmed Junaid Sorosh-Wali, Head of Office and UNESCO Representative to Sudan, and His Excellency Lt. Gen. Abdul Rahman Abdul Hamid, Governor of Northern State.
During the meeting, congratulations were extended to the Governor on the designation of Dongola as the Capital of Tourism 2026, in recognition of its diverse and distinctive tourism assets. The UNESCO Representative also briefed H.E. the Governor on recent emergency protection measures undertaken by UNESCO in partnership with site management, as well as the decisions of the World Heritage Committee regarding the state of conservation of the Gebel Barkal and the Sites of the Napatan Region, inscribed on the World Heritage List since 2003.
He provided a comprehensive overview of the challenges affecting the conservation of both the core and buffer zones of the site, and emphasized the need to mobilize all stakeholders’ efforts to meet conservation requirements and safeguard the site’s Outstanding Universal Value for future generations.
For his part, the Governor of Northern State thanked UNESCO for its important work and affirmed his full readiness to address administrative challenges related to the site, enhance coordination with World Heritage site management, and mobilize the necessary resources and capacities to protect archaeological sites across the state.
Mr. Sorosh-Wali commended the Governor’s decision to register all archaeological sites with the land authorities, describing it as a strategic and important step toward strengthening the protection of cultural heritage in Northern State.
In conclusion, Mr. Ahmed Junaid expressed UNESCO’s readiness to support the Government of Sudan by providing technical assistance should it decide to reprepare a nomination dossier for the Kerma site for inscription on the World Heritage List, which is currently included on Sudan’s Tentative List.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-and-northern-state-strengthen-cooperation-safeguard-sudans-world-heritage
