Skopje, 10 December 2021 (MIA) – Differences in the approach and understanding of the role of history and history education in contemporary societies, as well as building good relations free of politicizing history between Macedonian and Bulgarian historians remain, reads a press release after the end of the two-day online meeting of the Joint Multidisciplinary Commission on Historical and Educational Issues. Commission members discussed history textbooks and the concept of multiperspectivity versus the exclusion approach, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release. The approach based on positive European experiences and recommendations by the Council of Europe and UNESCO remains to be the core in the work of the Macedonian members in the Commission. This is where the major misunderstandings with our Sofia counterparts stem from. They favor the exclusion concept that is strange to the contemporary understanding of history education, which embraces the multiperspectivity and interdisciplinary approaches, said the MoFA. After an exhaustive discussion on the second day, both sides are still far from a solution that would lead to improvements in the education process and achievement of the common goal of building goodneighborly relations and friendship, in which the past and different interpretations of history would not be an obstacle. The next meeting of the commission is set to take place on February 24-25, 2022. The joint Macedonian-Bulgarian commission was established in accordance with the Friendship Treaty signed between the two countries in 2017. This was the last of the five meetings scheduled for 2021.