Baghdad-INA
Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities announced on Saturday the adoption of the principle of "sustainability" in the rehabilitation of archaeological and heritage sites as part of a time-bound plan implemented using modern technology and international standards.
The ministry also unveiled ambitious targets to attract 10 million tourists in the coming period through a package of joint projects with local governments.
Ali Yassin, spokesperson for the Tourism Board at the Ministry of Culture, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that the authority had developed a timetable for the rehabilitation of the King Ghazi Palace and the ancient city of Nippur in Diwaniyah province, in addition to several other archaeological sites across the country's provinces, while incorporating the principle of sustainability.
He noted that sustainability encompasses a range of concepts aimed at integrating modern development elements and advanced technology without compromising the authenticity or historical value of archaeological sites.
Yassin said that rehabilitation and maintenance work at the King Ghazi Palace and the ancient city of Nippur was being carried out through joint committees comprising the relevant authorities and the local government in Diwaniyah, as part of the country's strategy to develop the tourism sector through 2035.
He noted that these efforts also fall within the ministry's objective of attracting 10 million tourists to visit Iraq's archaeological and tourist sites.
The spokesperson stressed that attracting such a large number of tourists would require the construction of advanced infrastructure capable of accommodating them, necessitating an increase in hotel room capacity, the establishment of resorts and bridges, and the upgrading of high-quality telecommunications services, in addition to modernizing the banking system and developing airports.
Yassin noted that Iraq, as a member of the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) since 1975, with headquarters in Madrid, is utilizing this membership to rehabilitate archaeological and cultural sites, heritage houses, as well as religious tourism sites, in accordance with the highest international quality standards.
He concluded by saying that the primary objective of these efforts is to preserve Iraq's civilizational heritage and invest in it in a sustainable tourism framework, in a manner that contributes to strengthening the country's archaeological, heritage, cultural and tourism identity on the international map.
