Argentina and Uruguay's joint tango appreciation campaign has triumphed, with the United Nations declaring the passionate and sensual dance and musical form part of the world's cultural heritage.

On Wednesday, the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee of Intangible Heritage granted tango protected cultural status.

"We are very proud," Hernan Lombardi, culture minister of the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, said after the committee's decision in Abu Dhabi. "We hope this decision will help spread the tradition of tango all over the world."

Both Argentina and Uruguay have long fought over each other's claim as the birthplace of tango, which arose in both countries in the late 1800s. The popularity of the dance has since spread to Europe, North America and Japan.

The two countries put aside their squabbles for a joint bid to get tango on UNESCO's list of cultural traditions to be safeguarded and protected.

Other artistic and cultural forms inscribed on UNESCO's list this year include Chinese calligraphy and paper-cutting, Japanese Akiu, Ainu and Bugaku dances, Indonesian Batik (textile hand-dying process) and Nowruz (Persian New Year) celebrations.

These join previously enshrined traditions, including Japanese Kabuki theatre and Indian Vedic chanting.

With files from The Associated Press