The Department of Museums and Antiquities at the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) has signed a partnership agreement with French Total Co. and French Institute for the Near East for the excavation of monuments in Failaka Island, 20 km off the coast of Kuwait City.
As per the agreement, the excavation works will concentrate on the areas of Hellenistic castle and Al-Qusor in the Island.
In a press statement, the NCCAL Secretary General Ali Al-Yuha underscored the importance of the 35-year-long Kuwaiti-French cooperation in the archeological domain.
This is not the first Kuwaiti-French agreement for cooperation to excavate for monuments and antiquities in Kuwait, he said.
He clarified that the Kuwaiti-French archeological team has been working in Kuwait for a long time and presents regular reports on the activities to the NCCAL.
Al-Yuha noted that Kuwait attaches great importance to Failaka Island which includes monuments that date back to the beginning of the second millennium BC - from the Bronze Age- extending through the Hellenistic civilization to the Modern Age.
He unveiled that arrangements are made in cooperation with the UNESCO to add Failaka Island's historical sites to the World Heritage Sites List.
For his part, the General Manager of Total-Kuwait Company Lionel Levha said the French company supports the Kuwaiti-French archeological mission that works in Failaka Island.
This support comes within the framework of the company's support scientific activities, he said.
He explained that the company also supports a variety of projects in the fields of training, education, culture and environment conservation.