Doha, February 19 (QNA) - Doha hosted on Monday the meeting of the final drafting committee for the file of Bisht (men's cloak).

The four-day meeting is organized by the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science (QNCECS), in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO).

In a speech on the occasion, QNCECS Acting Secretary-General Ali Abdul Razzaq Marafie said that the meeting would complete what was accomplished regarding the Bisht file in the first coordination meeting previously hosted by the Ministry of Culture, in order to inscribe this file as one of intangible cultural heritage elements onto the list of cultural heritage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

All of this, he noted, comes within the implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, and aims to enhance community awareness of its importance in terms of skills, knowledge, practices, etc., and transfer them to future generations as well as enhance the consolidation of national identity and achieving rapprochement, understanding and exchange of knowledge between different cultures and peoples in order to support the achievement of the priorities of the third national development strategy of the State of Qatar 2024-2030 in creating a cohesive society, providing a high-quality life for members of society, and emphasizing what was stipulated in the MONDIACULT Declaration that was launched during the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development for the year 2022, in recognition of culture as a global public good, to enable and advance sustainable development.

The QNCECS Acting Secretary-General affirmed that the cooperation of the QNCECS with the Ministry of Culture and ALECSO provided an opportunity for all experts to exchange knowledge and develop national capabilities to achieve integration between Arab countries, which contributes to documenting the shared Arab heritage and history and disseminating it globally. It also reflects the State of Qatar's commitment to preserving and enhancing its heritage and educating future generations about the importance of caring for cultural heritage and ensuring its sustainability.

For her part, Director of the Heritage and Identity Department at the Ministry of Culture Sheikha Najla bint Faisal Al-Thani said that this joint Arab file demonstrates the unity of cultural heritage in the Arab world and enhances the unity and support for the shared Arab heritage.

She appreciated the efforts made by the participants to achieve the goal of registering the Bisht (men's cloak) as was done in previous joint Arab files such as the file of the palm tree, Arabic calligraphy henna, or any joint Arab project in the future.

The Director of the Heritage and Identity Department at the Ministry of Culture said the meeting was a very important step, given that it serves the role of the Arab countries in implementing the provisions of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, including registering its elements onto the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.