Beirut: An Initiative By UNESCO

Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), announced that the UNESCO has launched the initiative "Beirut" to attract funds to be used in rehabilitating Beirut's heritage buildings, LBCI local TV channel reported.

"We should implement measures to preserve the national heritage of Lebanon and we will be holding a meeting for donors' country by the end of September for this purpose," Azoulay said on Thursday during her meeting with Caretaker Culture Minister Abbas Mortada, Xinhua news agency reported.

Lebanon achieved independence in 1943, and Beirut became the capital city. The city remained a regional intellectual capital, becoming a major tourist destination and a banking haven, especially for the Persian Gulf oil boom. Wikimedia Commons

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Mortada offered a comprehensive study to Azoulay about the number of heritage buildings destroyed in the city following the explosions and the extent of the damage.

The UNESCO has previously warned that 640 heritage buildings have been damaged by the explosions and 60 of them are at risk of collapse. (IANS)

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