Macron Backs Heritage Bid Of Remote Polynesian Islands
Faizan Hashmi Published July 26, 2021 | 04:46 PM
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday backed a bid by the Marquesas Islands to gain UNESCO world heritage status
Atuona (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jul, 2021 ) :French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday backed a bid by the Marquesas Islands to gain UNESCO world heritage status.
Macron, the first head of state to visit the remote archipelago in French Polynesia, was greeted by a traditional ceremony of 600 dancers and musicians from its six islands.
He was the only person at the gathering wearing a suit -- with everybody else clad in costumes made of leaves from the local auti plant -- as he addressed a crowd from onboard a traditional Polynesian double-hulled canoe.
"This nature and this culture is our treasure," Macron said. "This is why I will fight alongside you for the Marquesas to get the Unesco classification." The UN cultural body awards world heritage status to sites judged to be of special universal value to humanity.
Top heritage sites include the Great Wall of China, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Machu Picchu in Peru and the Acropolis in Greece.
Marquesa Islands authorities have been campaigning for years to get the archipelago's unique combination of "nature and culture" recognised.
"We may just be a group of small rocks in the Pacific, but we have riches that deserve to become part of the world's heritage," Polynesian culture minister Heremoana Maamaatuaiahutapu said.
Macron is on his first official trip to French Polynesia, mostly dedicated to discussing the French overseas territory's strategic role, the legacy of nuclear tests and rising seas due to global warming.
The trip is seen as a chance for Macron to highlight the extent of France's global footprint through its overseas territories, which extend from the Pacific to the Caribbean to Latin America and the Indian Ocean.
The Pacific is of particular strategic importance in the context of China's rising power.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Food minster for ensuring transparent distribution of Bardana
Russia says has evidence Moscow attackers were linked to Kyiv
PM chairs review meeting on stoppage of electricity theft
IPM survey proves biocontrol technology profitable for cotton farmers
Pandemic accord talks heading for extra time
Senate elections in KP hang on reserve seat oath-taking, states ECP
UK's biggest water supplier plunges into deeper financial crisis
DG SEPA for installation of waste water treatment facilities
Man gets life imprisonment for killing wife
French parliament condemns 1961 Paris massacre of Algerians
First Inter Schools Naat Competition held in Larkana
S.Africa electoral body bars ex-president Zuma from May election
More Stories From World
-
Russia says has evidence Moscow attackers were linked to Kyiv
30 minutes ago -
Pandemic accord talks heading for extra time
34 minutes ago -
UK's biggest water supplier plunges into deeper financial crisis
29 minutes ago -
French parliament condemns 1961 Paris massacre of Algerians
29 minutes ago -
S.Africa electoral body bars ex-president Zuma from May election
29 minutes ago -
'Operation Beethoven': Dutch 2.5bn-euro charm offensive to keep ASML
2 hours ago
-
Bulgaria thrown into fresh political turmoil as snap elections loom
2 hours ago -
China-India hold meeting to discuss border affairs in Beijing
2 hours ago -
French bill seeks to ban hair discrimination affecting black women
2 hours ago -
China willing to work with Pakistan to enhance capability of tackling security challenges: Col Wu Qi ..
2 hours ago -
Pakistan to bring perpetrator of Dasu terrorist attack to justice soon: Lin Jian
3 hours ago -
Financial crisis at UK's biggest water supplier worsens
3 hours ago