Doha, February 20 (QNA) - The meeting of the final drafting committee for the file of Bisht (men's cloak) continued Tuesday.

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

In remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Director of ALECSO's Culture Department, Dr. Hamid bin Saif Al Nawafli, said Qatar and nine countries are spearheading the Bisht file, which is one of the powerful files, adding that ALECSO leads the joint Arab cultural action in preparing the advanced files to be registered on the list that represents the UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage.

The mission of ALECSO aims to address the challenges facing the countries, especially those that do not have the capabilities and ample expertise to prepare such types of files that apparently require special standards and certain regulations, Al Nawafli highlighted, adding that ALECSO dedicates its expertise and potential to advancing the joint Arab action, affirming that the meetings constitute an opportunity for states to build their capabilities in preparing the files.

Al Nawafli emphasized that ALECSO strives to advance the cultural affairs in the Arab region, adding that the meeting will finalize the preparation for the final version of the file expected to be completed after the meeting, highlighting that Arab states have a deadline of March 31 to submit the complete Bisht file, along with other files that will be prepared with other states to be submitted to UNESCO.

Speaking to QNA, a member of the Bisht file, Abdullah Shaheen Al Ghanim said work is underway in the two-day meeting to complete the final form of the Bisht file which includes numerous Gulf and Arab states, emphasizing that the second meeting will finalize the items of the aforementioned form that will be endorsed unanimously. He indicated that the meeting intends to endorse the Bisht (men's cloak) in the relevant entities and propagate this Arab culture accordingly.

The meeting will be followed by the compilation of all films and images from the participating countries to be included in the Bisht file by focusing on a certain part of the design to prepare the Bisht, Al Ghanim outlined, adding that all states should prepare the required film materials. He indicated that the meeting would complete the achievements made in the first coordinative meeting of Bisht hosted by the Ministry of Culture to further incorporate the men's cloak as one of the elements of intangible cultural heritage on the list of UNESCO.

He affirmed that the Arab states have already started to cooperate among them with respect to such types of files and other files, as UNESCO pushes the countries towards this cooperation. (QNA)