Morocco and Mauritania signed Wednesday in Riyadh, the executive program of cultural cooperation for the period 2022 to 2025, based on the agreement of cultural, scientific, technical and economic cooperation concluded in Nouakchott on 10 February 1972.
This program was signed by the Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid and the Minister of Culture, Youth, Sports and Relations with the Mauritanian Parliament, Mohamed Ould Soueidat, on the sidelines of the 23rd session of the Conference of Ministers Responsible for Cultural Affairs of the Arab World, in the Saudi capital.
According to the program, the two sides agreed to strengthen cultural relations through the preparation and implementation of programs and joint cultural, artistic and heritage projects, exchange of visits and meetings, and participation in cultural, artistic and heritage events held in both countries, in addition to strengthening cooperation and exchange of experiences in the field of restoration, protection and enhancement of historical monuments and archaeological sites and launch joint programs in the field of archaeological research.
The program also includes the exchange of expertise and scientific and educational experiences in the field of protection, enhancement, documentation and digitization of cultural heritage, the exchange of studies and research, especially in the field of common cultural heritage, and the promotion of cooperation and exchange of information to combat illicit trafficking in cultural property, as well as the preparation of files for sharing elements of cultural heritage for their inclusion in the list of UNESCO World Heritage.
It was also agreed, according to the program, to allow Mauritanian executives specializing in the field of antiquities and heritage to benefit from training courses at the National Institute of Archaeology and Heritage in Rabat and in the services of the Ministry and its affiliated institutions specializing in the field of heritage, and to allocate two places of study at the National Institute of Archaeology and Heritage to Mauritanian students in the quota of scholarships awarded by the Moroccan side to the Mauritanian side.
It also includes the support and encouragement of artistic creations in the field of theater by organizing training workshops in this area.
The executive program also covers the exchange of participation in cultural and artistic festivals, encouraging the participation of artists and creators in events organized in both countries, the exchange of cultural and artistic events, the exchange of expertise and experience in the field and the organization of events and major cultural events.
In the field of plastic and visual arts, the program provides for the exchange of organization of individual and group exhibitions of plastic arts to promote the works of visual artists and allow Mauritanian specialists to benefit from training courses at the National Institute of Fine Arts in Tetouan.
