Various architectural sites, including Medinas, old mosques, synagogues and churches, have been conserved and rehabilitated in recent years in several cities of Morocco, said Bahnini on Wednesday at the University of Lisbon during the 9th International Meeting of the Mediterranean Architectural Heritage.

Rabat, which has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2012, has also set up a Foundation dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage, under the effective presidency of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa.

This Foundation aims to actively mobilize experts and public and private actors to perpetuate and transmit the historical, architectural, artistic, landscape, tangible and intangible values of the cultural heritage of the capital of the Kingdom, added the Moroccan diplomat.

Bahnini recalled that three RIPAM editions have been held in Morocco, respectively in the imperial cities of Meknes in 2005, Marrakech in 2007, and Rabat in 2019, adding that this denotes the crucial importance given by the Kingdom not only to the safeguard and preservation of the Moroccan architectural heritage, but also the Mediterranean architectural heritage which is an essential component of the Moroccan architectural DNA.

In addition, the Moroccan diplomat stressed that the Mediterranean basin is characterized, more than any other region in the world, by its rich architectural and urban heritage, rightly considered a world cultural heritage, noting that this wealth reflects the historical diversity of Mediterranean civilizations.

"Such a heritage deserves all the sacrifices to be preserved. It is our duty as Mediterraneans to contribute effectively to this honorable purpose to bequeath this precious asset to future generations," he concluded.