MEA's Asia-Europe workshop on art, heritage conservation concludes

A two-day Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) workshop on conservation of monuments and artefacts concluded here on Tuesday, an official release said.

It was organised by the Ministry of External Affairs in association with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).

The workshop held on February 6-7 was attended by more than 80 participants from Asia and Europe, including practitioners and policy-makers, museologists, conservationists, archivists, students and researchers.

"There is an increasing awareness among countries in Asia and Europe on the need to focus on an understanding of our cultural heritage and taking measures to ensure its conservation. Each country has certain core competencies and evolved certain technologies and techniques post-research in conservation field," the ministry said in a statement.

The ASEM is an intergovernmental process established in 1996 to foster dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe.

Presently, it comprises 30 European and 21 Asian countries, the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat.

INTACH Chairman Maj. Gen. L.K. Gupta (retd) welcomed the delegates at the workshop and MEA Secretary (East) Preeti Saran inaugurated it.

"The ASEM dialogue process encompasses political, economic and socio-cultural cooperation, undertaken in a spirit of mutual respect and equal partnership," the statement added.

--IANS

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