Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), congratulates ICESCO’s Member States on the official inscription of seven sites of Outstanding Universal Value on the UNESCO World Heritage List during the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee. ICESCO congratulates its Member States on this remarkable achievement and extends special recognition to the Republic of Sierra Leone for its first-ever inscription on the World Heritage List.

In total, ICESCO Member States succeeded in inscribing five cultural and two natural sites, as follows:

New Cultural World Heritage Inscriptions:

• Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal – Republic of Tajikistan
• Diy-Gid-Biy Cultural Landscape of the Mandara Mountains – Republic of Cameroon
• Faya Palaeolandscape – United Arab Emirates
• Forest Research Institute Malaysia Forest Park Selangor – Malaysia
• Prehistoric Sites of the Khorramabad Valley – Islamic Republic of Iran

New Natural World Heritage Inscriptions:

• Gola-Tiwai Complex – Republic of Sierra Leone
• Coastal and Marine Ecosystems of the Bijagós Archipelago, Omatí Minhô – Republic of Guinea-Bissau

In parallel, ICESCO also congratulates its Member States, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Libya, on the successful removal of Abu Mena and the Old Town of Ghadamès from the List of World Heritage in Danger. This significant achievement follows the fulfillment of the World Heritage Committee’s requirements, including the effective implementation of corrective measures and the attainment of the adopted Desired State of Conservation for Removal (DSOCR).

ICESCO commends its Member States for their accomplishments and encourages continued efforts to ensure the conservation and sustainable management of the newly inscribed and existing world heritage sites.