ZAGREB, April 4, 2018 – Southeast European culture ministers confirmed on Wednesday in Sarajevo their readiness to continue regional cooperation through the project “Enhancing Culture for Sustainable Development” and adopted a joint declaration which is aimed to support cohesion in the region in the spirit of mutual respect, peace and stability.
The meeting in Sarajevo was held as part of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s presidency over the Council of Ministers of Culture of South-East Europe (CoMoCoSEE), the main unified ministerial cooperation platform on culture and development in Southeast Europe which includes 12 countries as part of the project launched in 2004. Croatia was represented by Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek.
The CoMoCoSEE member states are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey.
Obuljen Koržinek told Hina that Croatia had been taking part in the initiative since its outset and that it belonged to a group of countries that had been encouraging cooperation through concrete projects. She particularly highlighted the protection and preservation of cultural heritage, saying that a number of such projects in Croatia, launched through this initiative, had either been realised or were about to be completed.
She also noted that Croatia would take over the presidency over this regional cooperation initiative in 2019.
The new CoMoCoSEE chair is Bulgaria, whose minister Boil Banov announced active participation in enhancing this platform as an instrument for advancing the integrity of the region through the affirmation of its cultural heritage.
