ICESCO considers declaring Damascus Islamic culture capital for 2027
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) announced that it is exploring cooperation projects with Syria's Ministry of Culture, including the designation of Damascus as the Islamic World Culture Capital for 2027, the restoration of the Waqf Library in Aleppo, and participation in the rehabilitation of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus in coordination with Syria's ministries of culture and religious endowments, QNA reports.
In a statement, the organization said these initiatives were discussed during a meeting in Damascus between ICESCO's director general, Dr. Salim Al Malik, and Syria's minister of culture, Mohammed Yassin Saleh.
The statement also noted ICESCO's readiness to dispatch a team of international experts to assess the condition of archaeological and heritage sites in Syria and produce an official technical report, which would help document the damage sustained by these sites for international institutions.
Dr. Al Malik urged the swift inscription of Syrian heritage sites on ICESCO's Islamic World Heritage lists, a matter expected to be addressed at the upcoming annual meeting of the Islamic World Heritage Committee in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Earlier, it was reported the IICA highlights the role of Abai’s spiritual legacy in strengthening cultural integration of Central Asian peoples.
