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Gobustan State Preserve included into World Cultural Heritage List

29 June 2007 08:46 (UTC +04:00)

The minister said that the decision on including Gobustan in the UNESCOâ€™s list passed six hours ago.
â€œDespite this, according to the initial proposal the issue will again be considered in a year. Our proofs were not considered sufficient in the initial stage. The debates continued after presenting the copies of Azerbaijani presidentâ€™s executive order and Mehriban Aliyevaâ€™s letter to UNESCO Director-General. All 21 members of the committee voted unanimously for including Gobustan State Historical - Artistic Preserve in the list of World Cultural heritage. This is a great event, as Azerbaijanâ€™s only two monuments are in this list. There are about 800 monuments in the world,â€ he said.
The minister underlined that the committee holds meeting once a year. Abulfas Garayev also noted if a monument does not meet demands it can be eliminated from the list.
â€œSuch an event can damage the image and on the other hand the monument is not included in the list for the second time. We realize this responsibility. The state of Gobustan preserve should be under serious control. Researches will be carried out there on the international level.
Gobustanâ€™s inclusion to this list says that it belongs not only to Azerbaijan, but the whole world. International organization implements perseverance of this monument and state is carrying out commitments at this organization,â€
The minister stressed that these commitments consists of the preparation of development plan of the monument, continuation of investigations, qualification of tourism, construction of roads, construction of new building and transference of jail. Implementation of all these commitments is long-lasting program.
Mr.Garayev underlined that it is too early to speak about the inclusion of any other monument to this list.
â€œThe presentation of any monument demands a lot of time. If one list is presented every year and if Azerbaijanâ€™s monument is included to the list once in two years, it will be great event. Azerbaijan is recognized and is welcomed now. I regard that we will present such issues in annual reports and meetings,â€ he said.
Gobustan rock drawings attracted Azerbaijani scientists in 1930. Azerbaijani government declared the territory of the rock drawings Gobustan state historical-artistic preserve in 1966.
Taking into account the global importance of the preserve, the Azerbaijani government submitted documents to UNESCO for including the preserve into the World Heritage List in 2002. Gobustan Nomiantion world and Management Plan was drawn up and sent to UNESCO in 2006. During this period UNESCO Director General KoÃ¯chiro Matsuura was invited to Azerbaijan supported by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and on the initiative of UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mehriban Aliyeva. UNESCO Director General familiarized himself with Gobustan rock drawings. UNESCE and IKOMOS experts supported the Action Plan prepared by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, and the preserve was assessed. /APA/