The World Heritage Committee,

2. Commends the scientific work being carried out by UNESCO in Aksum and encourages UNESCO and the State Party of Ethiopia to continue further scientific work with a view to the formulation of recommendations on the modalities of the re-erection of the obelisk;

3. Applauds the cooperation between the States Parties of Ethiopia and Italy, leading to the return of the obelisk, which could enhance the value of Aksum;

4. Welcomes and supports the tripartite cooperation between UNESCO and the States Parties of Ethiopia and Italy in the preparation of the re-erection of the obelisk;

5. Requests the State Party to submit an up-dated, detailed map of the World Heritage property, including geographic coordinates and scale, indicating clearly the boundaries of the core and buffer zones;

6. Notes with appreciation the efforts made by the State Party for the conservation and management of the property and further invites the World Bank to cooperate with the World Heritage Centre in order to ensure that the heritage values of Aksum are taken into due consideration in developing the new management plan and the master plan;

7. Requests the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and ICCROM to undertake a joint mission to Aksum with a view to evaluate its state of conservation and to submit a report for examination of the Committee at its 30th session (Vilnius, 2006).