Skopje, 7 February 2023 (MIA) – Minister of Culture Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojchevska met Tuesday with Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO, Ernesto Ottone, and UNESCO Director of World Heritage Lazare Elondou Assomo during her official visit to Paris.

Minister Kostadinovska-Stojchevska announced the opening of a UNESCO office in Ohrid, which affirms their commitment to strengthen, manage and promote the status of the Ohrid region.

The efforts of the governments and national committees of North Macedonia and Albania in regards to the implementation of the UNESCO recommendations concerning the Ohrid Region were welcomed at the meeting.

The Minister of Culture pointed out that the Government is fully committed to a successful implementation of the World Heritage Convention, and it is intensifying the efforts to implement the recommendations from the decisions of the World Heritage Committee and the Reactive Monitoring Missions, in cooperation with all relevant state institutions, the municipalities and the civil society.

She also said that the updated report on the state of protection of the natural and cultural heritage of the Ohrid region and progress in implementing the World Heritage Committee’s recommendations, with the Strategic Plan to Rehabilitate the Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region (2023-2030) as a joint document with the Republic of Albania, has also been submitted.

Kostadinovska-Stojchevska noted the country is aware that further continuous efforts are needed in accordance with the recommendations to deal with identified vulnerabilities and threats, and she is hopeful that a decision will be made at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee, which will be held in September in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to let the Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region remain on the List of World Heritage.

She thanked the Center for World Heritage for the aid within the World Heritage Fund, amounting to USD 55,000 to realize the project of the Institute for protection of monuments of culture and museum – Ohrid to upgrade the knowledge and capacities of the experts working in this establishment.

North Macedonia marks its 30-year-anniversary of being a UNESCO member. The 16th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions will be held from February 7-10 in Paris. Keeping in mind that North Macedonia is not part of this committee, but of the Convention, Minister of Culture Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojchevska, who is also the president of the UNESCO National Commission for North Macedonia will attend this meeting, accompanied by Tatjana Kraljevska-Lazarova, Secretary General of the UNESCO National Commission, in the capacity of observers. dk/ik/