On 11 November 2025, ICCROM Director-General Aruna Francesca Maria Gujral welcomed to ICCROM Shri Vivek Aggarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The meeting aimed to explore concrete ways to consolidate and further strengthen the longstanding collaboration between India and ICCROM.
Director-General Gujral and Secretary Aggarwal agreed to move forward with the preparation of a coherent, impactful, jointly designed long-term programme leveraging their respective strengths and adding value, in line with the jointly identified needs and priorities.
The meeting also underscored India’s strong commitment to strengthening its national capacities in heritage conservation, while better engaging different national stakeholders in these efforts.
The discussion also focused on the importance of international cooperation and knowledge transfer in the Asian region and beyond, co-creating joint capacity-building initiatives for conservation professionals, curators, and collection managers, as well as for cultural bearers at the community level.
India's rich cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, coupled with ICCROM's global expertise, will be critical to advancing our common quest to promote cultural heritage conservation as a key driver of resilience, social cohesion and long-term development.
