Cultural cooperation between Afghanistan and UNESCO centres on the heritage.
Following years of warfare and civil unrest, the country is striving to root its reconstruction in the national identity that is reflected in the sites that were unfortunately severely damaged during this dark period. Various operational projects have been implemented to urgently consolidate and restore the two sites inscribed on the World Heritage List as well as the nation’s other cultural sites. Thanks to the support of several governments and international organizations, the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul was reconstructed, thereby making possible the return in March, 2007 of some 1,400 ethnographical and archaeological artefacts that had been stored in the Afghanistan Museum-in-Exile in Bubendorf, Switzerland since 1999.
In order to fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property, a Red List of Afghanistan Antiquities at Risk was published.
Priority is also being given to programmes designed to promote intercultural dialogue, cultural industries and intangible heritage as tools for post-conflict resolution with a view to encouraging sustainable development on the basis of common cultural values.