Deal signed to include Kuwait’s Failaka Island in UNESCO World Heritage List

• The National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters and International Fund for Landmarks are preparing a file to list Failaka Island on the World Heritage List, with submission to UNESCO in the coming years.

According to Al Qabas newspaper, the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters has signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Monuments Fund to include Failaka Island on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The memorandum was signed by Dr. Mohammed Al-Jassar, Secretary-General of the council in Kuwait, with H. E. Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s Ambassador to the United States. Meanwhile, Benedict de Montlor, President and CEO of the International Fund for Landmarks, signed the memorandum at the organization’s headquarters in Manhattan.

On this occasion, Al-Jassar emphasized in a statement to KUNA the significance of Failaka Island, which has a history spanning 4,200 years, to Kuwait, the Gulf region, and the world.

Al-Jassar added that the island witnessed five successive civilizations and was inhabited until 34 years ago, when the Iraqi invasion of the country occurred in 1990.

He pointed out that the council is preparing the file for listing Failaka Island on the World Heritage List in cooperation with the International Fund for Landmarks. This involves preparing a comprehensive study on the island and submitting the file to UNESCO in the coming years.

He explained that the study will be conducted in several stages. The first stage involves a comprehensive survey of the island’s heritage sites, followed by the preparation of a file on how to utilize these sites for cultural tourism in Failaka, and then submitting the file to the organization.

He emphasized the importance of this stage for the country to have a registered site on the World Heritage List, noting that the goal of this registration is to enhance Kuwait’s global cultural profile and to develop “sites that can be leveraged for cultural tourism as part of the country’s future development efforts.”

Al-Jassar added that this type of registration preserves and validates these historical sites for future generations, emphasizing that preserving heritage on the island is a proactive step toward sustainable cultural tourism in Failaka.