Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth and Chair of the UAE National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, discussed with Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, the progress of projects to reconstruct the Great Mosque of Al Nuri and Al Hadba Minaret in Mosul, Iraq, and restore the Conventual Church of Our Lady of the Hour and the Al Tahera Syriac Catholic Church.

During the remote meeting, Al Kaabi highlighted the UAE’s keenness to consolidate its ties with UNESCO and support its activities, initiatives and programmes, to benefit communities around the world and promote compassion, peace and tolerance, adding that the UAE’s projects in Mosul aim to empower the city’s residents and help them achieve prosperity.

Both sides also discussed the global architecture competition to redesign the Great Mosque of Al Nuri, which will be launched in October by UNESCO on behalf of the steering committee responsible for the mosque’s reconstruction. The competition will consider the views of Mosul’s residents, who will be consulted regarding the options.

Azoulay explained UNESCO’s efforts to restore educational, cultural and heritage sites that were damaged by the explosion in Beirut’s port in August.

The UAE is the sixth leading donor to UNESCO, supporting and financing many local, regional and international projects.