KABUL - The Meshrano Jirga on Tuesday ratified a South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) agreement on trade in services and the statute of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM).
The agreement on trade in services was signed during the 16th SAARC Summit in Thimphu, Bhutan, on April 28-29, 2010. Senate International Affairs Commission member Humera Niamati told the house the agreement was aimed at opening up new vistas of cooperation and deepening the integration of regional economies.
She said the 32-aricle agreement included aircraft repair and maintenance and computer reservation system (CRS) services provided by computerized systems that contained information about air carriers' schedules, availability, fares and rules.
She insisted the agreement was in the interest of Afghanistan because it would help enhance the country's trade relations with South Asian countries.
After Senate Chairman Fazl Hadi Muslimyar asked lawmakers to express their views about the accord, all of them supported its approval.
Humera told upper house ICCROM was an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide through training, information, research, cooperation and advocacy programs.
It aimed to enhance the field of conservation-restoration and raise awareness about the importance and fragility of cultural heritage, the lawmaker added.
The creation of the center took place as a result of a proposal at the UNESCO General Conference in New Delhi in 1956. Three years later, the center was established in Rome, Italy, where it is headquartered to this day.
Humera said ICCROM responded to the needs of member states, whose number as of July 2012 has reached 133. Afghanistan has lost up to 8000-year-old historic artifacts during the past few decades. Some of the relicts had been looted and others destroyed, she said.
She said the country could protect and preserve its historic buildings and cultural heritage by having membership of an international organization. The upper house unanimously approved the statue, with Humera saying President Karzai had already endorsed it. (Pajhwok)