The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, ICCROM, has renewed its strategic partnership with the Government of Sharjah for another five years, underlining the emirate's role as a base for heritage conservation across the Arab region. The agreement was signed by ICCROM Director-General Aruna Francesca Maria Gujral and Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.

The renewal strengthens the position of the ICCROM Regional Centre in Sharjah, which works to conserve and safeguard cultural heritage in the Arab region and beyond. The centre, established in Sharjah in 2012, has become a focal point for ICCROM's activities in Arabic-speaking countries, delivering training, capacity building and advocacy for heritage professionals across the region.

Among the centre's best-known activities are the ICCROM-Sharjah Award for good practice in cultural heritage conservation and management in the Arab region, the Arab Forum for Cultural Heritage, and a range of training initiatives aimed at building local expertise. The renewed agreement extends the framework under which the Government of Sharjah hosts and supports the regional office, continuing a relationship that has made the emirate one of ICCROM's two host locations alongside its Rome headquarters.

The signing reflects a wider pattern of international heritage bodies anchoring regional work in the Gulf, where investment in museums, conservation training and cultural infrastructure has grown rapidly. For ICCROM, the Sharjah centre provides a platform for reaching practitioners and institutions across the Arab world, and the five-year renewal gives that work a stable footing at a time when heritage in several countries in the region faces pressure from conflict, climate change and rapid development.